Friends
by Moonview
Summary: Several years have passed since the formation of the Young Justice League. With new and old friends and allies they fight against the Decepticons and the Light. But new enemies and secrets long forgotten hide in the shadows, waiting to be unleashed. Sequel to Allies.
1. The Missing Link

Chapter 1

**A/N: here it is the sequel to Allies! Emerald Lantern is still Sil Vaturha 98's OC, not mine. Solarflare (who was mentioned in the previous part) is my OC, and Moonrider (who was also mentioned in the last part) belongs to Mimzy94; y'all will get to meet both of these characters soon. Otherwise I own nothing else!**

**Ok, enough with the intro, now, as for the 5-year gap, I will address what happened in between soon, so don't worry. And just so you know, there's a VERY strong chance that episodes of either show may be changed ****_drastically_****, chronologically rearranged, or omitted all together in order to work with the plot that I have worked out for this series.**

**I want to thank all my readers for being patient with me for getting this anticipated sequel out. Now just warning, updates for this one are going to take a while since I like writing a few chapters ahead before posting and with a complicated plot it'll take me a bit to figure out where everything needs to go.**

**Not to mention, I have the general stresses of life my daily to deal with.**

**Hope you all enjoy.**

**/comm/**

**_Telepathy/flashbacks_**

**_'_****_Bee's speech_**

**Five Years Later, January 1, Boston**

Erica West and Brandon Pax slowly made their way to an abandoned water plant guns drawn. "Should we split up?" she asked.

_"__If we don't he could escape," _'Bee replied readjusting his FBI vest.

Nodding they went inside searching for the serial killer hiding within.

Going inside, Erica went left while Bumblebee went straight. The red-headed woman aimed her gun and flashlight ahead, turning a corner, walking into the room with the giant pools used to clean the water. Hearing a clang she whipped around and saw a rat scuttle across the floor. Turning back she continued searching the tanks, not surprised to find several bodies at the bottom.

Gritting her teeth she grabbed the communicator of her vest. "Brandon, I've got six more bodies," she said.

_/I told you he'd find a new dumping site after we found the old one/_ he said walking into a room filled with tubs, tanks, and pipes. _/Be cautious, at this point he's devolved into a spree killer/_

"Roger that."

Turning back, she turned down the next dark hall, several rooms were on each side, the first door she opened it was an empty room, the second there was one desk shoved in the corner, the third: same. Turning towards another door, she kicked it open to find a set of stairs. Going down she found herself in the facility's basement, where all the major piping was.

"Of course, he hid down here," she muttered looking around.

Footsteps sounded rushing towards her, whipping around, she was slammed to the ground by a brunt force, her gun skidding across the floor as it fell from her hand.

"You're a pretty one," the man sneered.

"And you're not my type," she quipped, punching his nose. A satisfying crack sounded and he reeled back, cradling his broken nose. Getting to her feet, Erica got into a fighting stance and did a roundhouse kick, hitting him in the side of the head, making him stumble back more. Satisfied, she began to run back to her gun, when he chased after, jumping and grabbing her leg, knocking her over just a few feet from her gun. He crawled over her and punched her.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you!" he snarled grabbing a pipe and raising it above his head.

_"__You may want to consider your next move, Joshua Barnes. I never miss."_

The man turned to see the second FBI agent he hadn't even known was in the building standing at the second entrance to the basement, his gun aimed right at him. Growling he turned and began to charge at the second agent, when three shots rang out, and pain ripped through his shoulder and knees, making him crumple to the ground.

Brandon ran over and pulled out his cuffs, sitting on the Barnes' back and arresting him. _"Joshua Barnes, you are under the arrest for the murders eight women. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, one will be provided to you."_

Getting up Erica grabbed her communicator. "We need medics down here," she huffed.

/Copy that, on their way/

"Could it have taken you any longer to get down here?" she asked putting her hands on her hips.

_"__You had it handled, besides I intervened when I was supposed to,"_ 'Bee replied. _"Did you remember to tell them about the other bodies?"_

Sighing she called the police waiting outside again. "We also need crime scene experts on the first-floor water containment, there's more bodies."

_"__Isn't this a great way to start the new year?"_

"No! It's not you psychopath!"

_"__Hey! I'm a high-functioning sociopath! There's a difference!"_

_-.-_

**Cave**

A green boy with fins slammed against the training floor, the word _fail_ hovering right over him. "Neptune's beard!" he snapped slamming his fist against the ground. A young man in a black uniform with a blue bird on his chest helped him up. "I don't care how many years you trained as Robin then Nightwing, one of these days I'm going to beat you."

Nightwing smirked. "I don't doubt it Lagoon Boy," he replied.

"Recognized: Superboy—B07, Miss Martian—B08, Wasp—B19, Robin—B22, Beast Boy—B20, Blue Beetle—B24."

The group Zetaed in each heading for the showers. Mal walked over to Wasp as she returned to normal size and removed her cowl. "Hey slow down babe, what's the rush?"

"Sorry Mal, I'm late for a session with Dr. Palmer, rain check baby ok?" she said rushing off, leaving the dejected man alone.

"Welcome home Angelfish," Lagoon Boy said walking over to M'gann.

"Thank you La'gaan," she said kissing him as Moonknight, Wolf, and Starburst raised their heads before going back to napping, and Conner gave the couple a quick glare as he walked past.

"Recognized: Bumblebee—B06."

_"__Primus! What's that stench?"_ 'Bee growled covering his nose.

"We had a mission in the sewers to get Clayface," Conner replied. "Just about to hit the showers."

"Which sounds great for you hermano," Beetle said retracting his armor and covering his nose as he walked away from Beast Boy.

"Clayface is safely back in his Arkham Cell," Robin reported.

"Good," Nightwing replied turning to 'Bee. "How was your case?"

_"__Jerk hid in a water plant, ambushed Erica, she broke his nose, I shot him, he's in jail,"_ he replied as Nightwing looked mildly concerned.

"Is Em alright?"

_"__A little bruised, but otherwise fine. She said she'll be back in about a day or two; got a call from the Alpha Corps. Emergency in the Santec System."_

"Emergency," Captain Atom said appearing on a holo-screen.

_"__Speaking of which…"_

"The United Nations' headquarters is under attack."

"Beta's two blocks away," Mal stated.

"Captain Atom our Beta Squad is in vicinity, ETA three minutes," Nightwing informed.

-.-

**UN Headquarters, NYC**

"What happened here?" Emerald asked flying into a wrecked hall of the smoking building.

"Here!" a blonde girl in a pair of red yoga pants and a black tank top with a W on the front called flying over to join the older heroine.

"Wonder Girl? What happened?"

"Got a call from Nightwing, said there was an attack here, so we came to investigate. What are you doing here?"

"Got the alert as I was about to leave Earth for a mission. Destruction says our attacker went this way! Let's move!" she ordered as both girls flew down the hall towards a door where they could see a massive man looming over one of the ambassadors.

"I got him!" Wonder Girl exclaimed shooting forwards and flipping over the being and punching him in the gut towards Emerald who constructed a baseball bat, swinging and knocking him out the window as Batgirl flew in.

"That was unconventional," she muttered.

"It worked didn't it?" she shrugged. "Anyways, Batgirl, get the Secretary General to safety. Wonder Girl with me. I know this guy, he's an alien bounty hunter known as the Lobo, always talks in third person, talk about super annoying. Trust me when I say this dude's a heavy hitter."

"Got it!" she grinned slamming her fist into her hand.

A grapple line shot up, and Main Man leapt back in looking furious. "Kari? Kezifemme thinks they can take on the Main Man," he snarled and Erica grinned.

"Please, compared to sparring with Bumblebee, you'll be nothing," she taunted giving the universal signal for come-at-me.

He growled, lunging forwards, before getting knocked through a wall as Wonder Girl rammed him from the side. Chasing after, she yelped as he grabbed her hair, tossing the unfortunate protégé into her older teammate.

From there, he went after his target, forcing the elevator doors open and jumping down.

"Scrap," Erica grumbled sitting up. "Batgirl! You're about to have company!"

/Got it!/ the other girl replied as Erica yanked her teammate to her feet.

Flying down the elevator shaft, they quickly raced through the smoke-filled hall, hearing the sounds of fighting from the assembly room.

"Hold it clown-face!" Wonder Girl exclaimed divining down and kicking Main Man's feet out from under him as she landed in a fighting stance. "I don't recall us ending our little dance."

"Kezifem."

"Yea whatever, I've been called worse…I think," she shrugged ducking under his first punch and kicking him in the face. Going into the air, she hurled her lasso at him, pinning his arms to his side.

Or so she thought.

Main Man reached up and grabbed the rope, yanking Wonder Girl down to the ground and punching her in the face sending her crashing into the ceiling.

Only he didn't get to bask in his victory long as Emerald hit him with a giant hammer, forming a giant crevasse in the floor as she sent him skidding across the room. Batgirl then vaulted over his shoulder planting two explosives on him, that sent the bounty hunter reeling back.

Things so far seemed to be going well…until they weren't. Wonder Girl flew over to punch their target again when he grabbed her and hurled her into her teammates. Turning around, the alien bounty hunter leapt in front of the fleeing secretary. "Time to die Krolo."

"No!" Emerald exclaimed forming a spear and getting ready to throw it as the Main Man lifted the ambassador and pulled on his arms, ripping him in half. Except, instead of blood, guts, and various organs spilling out onto the floor, it was tech and a tiny green alien.

"Ew."

"That's different."

"…A Krolotan?" Erica muttered confused. What in God's name was a Krolotan doing here on Earth? They were supposed to be near Rhimbor and New Genesis.

"The Main Man's contract's complete!" he said picking up the tiny alien with a single hand. "Kezifemme, your world's your world."

"Will you ever stop talking in the third person?!" The wall blew inwards and the bounty hunter hopped onto a ship hovering outside. "And will it kill you to use a door for once?!"

-.-

**Watchtower, January 3**

**"****Zatanna—31, Rocket—32."**

The two newest members of the Justice League zetaed into the cave, joining everyone else as John Stewart stood in front of a monitor showing the two aliens from the UN.

"The big guy's Lobo, a bounty hunter. Extremely dangerous, but not likely to return," John stated.

"The little guy's another story," Ratchet sighed running a hand through his hair.

"That's a Krolotan," Bulkhead grumbled crossing his arms.

Arcee put her hands on her hips with a snarl, "Yep, and they always travel in packs."

"Meaning more of them are on Earth," Batman grumbled.

"At least a few hundred," Ratchet replied. "They're quite the irksome little race, going around and stealing technology that doesn't belong to them and abducting natives of the worlds they try to hide on. They're almost as bad as their 'competitor' race; now those are really a pain."

"Sounds like you all have dealt with them before," Nightwing mused.

"You should've seen the infestation the _Xanthium_ had," the medic growled in a tone that sent shivers up their spines. "Took us forever to purge it."

Martian Manhunter stepped up, "Though, I believe my friend can shed some light on the subject for us," he said motioning to the scientist standing behind him, "for those of you who don't know, this is Dr. Adam Strange of STARR Labs Ardel Initiative. He is the scientist responsible for maintaining the Zeta Tube technology we use for teleportation."

_"__I was wondering why a stranger was allowed on the 'Top Secret' Watchtower,"_ Superboy grumbled through the team's telepathic link.

"And he has a story to tell," J'ohn finished.

"Uh…it's a little involved," he muttered rubbing the back of his head, "wish I had visual aids or something."

"I can assist," Manhunter replied as his eyes glew red. _"We are all linked Adam. What you remember, we will see."_

"Uh…great," he said before switching to telepathy, _"Well I was performing a routine Zeta Tube upgrade, only something went wrong and I found myself transported halfway across the galaxy to a planet called Rahn. There was a scientist there, Sardath, he was conducting his own experiments in enhanced—very enhanced Zeta Beam technology. It took weeks to establish even basic communication. But he eventually made me understand, some of his zeta tech, had been stolen."_

"Fits the Krolotan M.O.," the Lanterns grumbled.

"Their entire culture revolves around stolen tech," Arcee muttered, "they were a real pain to deal with whenever they tried taking any of ours."

"Sardath detected a communication network between a single location on Rahn, and multiple locations on Earth," Strange spoke up again. "He was attempting to trace them when he accidently transported me to Rahn." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small device, "He gave me this, it detects trace Zeta radiation and can pinpoint all the locations where Krolotans have beams to Earth."

"Then I propose a two-pronged attack," Captain Atom said. "We stage simultaneous attacks on every location on Earth while a team of Leaguers handle the base on Rahn."

Strange cleared his throat, "That might be a problem. I'm not clear on the why, but Earthlings are persona non grata on Rahn's corner of the galaxy," he said changing the device's projection, "and these six Leaguers are wanted criminals."

"The missing sixteen hours!" Nightwing exclaimed.

"Never even occurred to us Vandal might've sent us into space," Stewart muttered. "I'll alert Hal; he, Erica, and Guy are on Oa with the Green Lantern Corps."

"Meanwhile, we have other Leaguers who can go."

Strange shook his head, "You aren't getting it, there's a planetary watch alert on Rahn for any members of the Justice League. The only Leaguers I haven't seen on there are the Autobots, which is why I can't make any sense of this."

"Optimus, can we send your team?" Atom questioned as the older man watched the holograms.

"I'm not sure that would be a wise course of action given the Decepticons' latest course of actions," he replied.

Batman nodded in agreement, "They haven't been spotted in the system for some time, but the mines are still open and operating as if the Warship hasn't left. The only question is: why?"

"I'm not sure, but given that Megatron and the Light have been quiet for some time now, we can only assume that whatever it is will play a part in their plans."

"If that's the case, I have another idea," Nightwing said stepping forwards, "not all of us are Leaguers, I can send a small, covert team. They can find out more about the sixteen hours without causing an intergalactic incident."

"You know, unless Optimus knows of any Autobot warships in the region," Conner shrugged and all eyes turned to the Autobot leader.

"I think Solarflare said she was in that quadrant. I could check to see if she'll be able to provide assistance."

-.-

**Mt. Justice, January 4 20:00**

"It's all hands on deck," Nightwing said. "The League and the Team will hit all fourteen Zeta locations simultaneously. Your priority is to destroy all Zeta Tubes or platforms and search for any humans the aliens may have abducted. As always, Mal is Ops Manager coordinating comms from here. Wonder Girl, Beast Boy, you're both with me on Alpha. Assignment: Philadelphia."

"Neptune's beard!"

"Batgirl, Wasp, you're with Wolf, Starburst, and Moonknight on Beta," Nighting continued rubbing her massive albino panther's head. "You'll be heading to Vlatavastok."

_"__Robin, La'gaan, Beetle, you three are Gamma, you'll be in New Orleans,"_ Bumblebee informed.

"Gamma always gets the soft gigs," La'gaan muttered storming away.

"Tim, you'll be running Gamma," Nightwing said grabbing his young brother's shoulder as he turned to follow the others.

"But I've never led a squad before."

_"__Then this is a good opportunity to get your feet wet,"_ 'Bee said.

"Because it's Gamma and you don't expect us to find anything, or because we're stretched thin and you have no choice."

_"__Think of it like, you never know what could happen. Sometimes the simplest things can hide the most important clues."_

"Just don't die ok?" Nightwing sighed, "And no unnecessary risks to the squad."

"Wait, where are the others going?"

"We have a mission that's, let's just say…out of this world," Conner grinned and Bumblebee facepalmed muttering something in another language.

-.-

**Rahn**

"Zeta Squad, welcome to Rahn," Strange said as Bumblebee, Miss Martian, and Superboy arrived on the alien world.

"Guys?"

All heads turned and they saw Emerald floating nearby looking at them in confusion.

"What're—How did—What?"

**A/N: ok, the first official chapter of Friends! I really feel like I could've written this better, but given how many times I've looked it over I figured this would be a good start. Anyways, hope y'all at least enjoyed the 1****st****chapter—no matter how short it was. I'll see y'all in the next update!**


	2. Alienated

Chapter 2

**A/N: alright, second chapter! As I'm sure you've already guessed, these first few chapters are in the YJ timeline, but don't worry, we'll get along to the TFP stuff soon enough! Once again, I just own this story, nothing else is mine.**

**/comms/**

**_Telepathy/flashbacks_**

**_"_****_Bumblebee/Soundwave talking"_**

Ranagar, Rahn. Jan 4, 22:17

"Huh, so that explains why you're all here. A warning would've been nice."

"Green Lantern said he was going to call you," Conner said.

"Must've called during my mission, I had to help break up an escalating fight between two planets in the same system nearby; wasn't able to answer any messages" Erica commented looking over the view, "But the guys said I should stop by here for the sights; and they were right. This place is beautiful."

Bumblebee smiled leaning on the railing, _"I'll say, I've seen my fair share of planets, but I'll be making a point to actually stop by here for a leisure trip at some point."_

"Of course, you've seen your 'fair share of planets' Mr. 16,999,431-Years-Old and Ms. Green-Lantern," Conner quipped and they both shrugged.

"Adam! Adam!" a young feminine voice called as a pale alien girl with blue marks and pointed ears greeted followed by a tall, bald male. "Fau du'eli er ku, Adam?"

"Um, great…I think," he replied. "Uh, Zeta Squad, these are my Rahnian friends. Sardath and his daughter Alana. Sardath cho Alana, fo'deh Miss Martian, Superboy, Emerald Lantern, und Bumblebee leps Earth und Cybertron."

"Um tausu Earthlings und Lardi Cybertonian, un tapsu mu apezde," Sardath greeted with a bow.

Bumblebee nodded, _"Ziry iksos iā dlaasyla naejot rhaenagon ei akat hen ao."_

"I think I can make this easier," M'gaan spoke placing a hand on her head and her eyes glew.

The two Rahnians grabbed their heads, looking between each other confused, "Oh, what was that?" Alana groaned.

"Such an odd sensation."

"Wait, you're speaking English!" Adam exclaimed approaching his friends.

"No, they're not," Miss Martian corrected, "but I linked us mentally; I'm serving as a…psychic translator. They speak Rahnian, we speak English, and we'll all hear the language we understand. The only ones who don't need psychic translations are those two so it will be less of a strain on me," she said pointing to the Lantern and Cybertronian.

"Amazing."

"This makes communicating so much easier," Alana smiled looking to Adam.

"Perhaps we should take this inside," Sardath suggested as they heard sirens approaching, "It is wise to use caution when harboring Earthings."

_"__You guys do that, brief me when I get back,"_ 'Bee said walking to the steps.

"Where are you going?" Adam floundered looking confused.

_"__Prime got in contact with the fleet in this sector. They're sending backup to help us with our little Krolotan issue, I'm supposed to be at the rendezvous point in five kliks,_" he called waving a hand.

"I'll go with him, you guys just wait inside and we'll continue this when we return with the back up," Erica said flying after him.

-.-

"You sure this is the spot?" Erica asked from where she sat up in a tree.

_"__These are the coordinates, they'll be here, Mom is not very tolerant of mistakes as big as misfiring a groundbridge,_" 'Bee shrugged, perking up as he heard the familiar pop of a groundbridge opening, _"Speaking of which…"_ Walking towards the blue vortex, he crossed his arms waiting for who ever was assigned to his unit to set out as Erica landed beside him.

They could make out two figures walking through the portal. The first one stepped out, wearing blue and white armor that appeared to have silver retractable claws of the hands, and a pair of wolf-ears on the masked helmet as well as a tail. Erica didn't recognize her as any notable Autobot she'd read about in her research of the Cybertronian Civil War, but Bumblebee did, practically tackling her in a bearhug.

_"__Sodjisto Moonrider!"_ he exclaimed as she laughed, her gold eyes shining in amusement.

"Chek, fin me ajjin'vo anna gekuhowi piqlib [Well, if it isn't my favorite nephew]," Moonrider greeted patting his head.

"Fin? Vo vkoohinv ha anna Mal Kendov? [What? No greeting for me Mal Kendov?]" the second woman chuckled her red and gold armor with pale skin and gold hair with blood red tips long enough to almost touch her ankles. She looked just as imposing as Erica imagined from all of Bumblebee's talks about _her_.

Her best friend stumbled back, freezing in place with wide eyes, _"Mahtim…"_

And suddenly, as close as she and Bumblebee were, Erica suddenly felt like she was intruding on something very private.

Solarflare's own cyan eyes gleaming with tears as they hugged, seeing each other for the first time in Erica wasn't sure how long. Breaking the hug, she placed a hand on her son's cheek smiling at him; at least that's what Erica assumed because, like Bumblebee, her mask covered the lower half of her face so she couldn't tell. "Ruus hash san yer'ki mhubp Mal Kandov. Yer ruus disse allayafi yer Papto. [Look how much you've grown Mal Kendov. You look just like your father]."

Erica smiled as she heard Bumblebee give a rare choked laugh with his real voice, it wasn't often she got to hear him try to talk, but over the last few years he had started to improve. She would be lying if she said she hadn't nearly fainted when he first started to be able to hold a small conversation without utilizing any tech.

"Ma, anha zin myittopm yer eth tikh Bumblebee's nayat'okeo [So, I'm guessing you must be Bumblebee's girlfriend]?" a voice beside her spoke and Erica yelped, falling out of the tree. Not to far from her, there was a thud and Erica saw Moonrider standing above her, holding out a hand. "Ojil nūmāzma rek [Sorry about that]."

"Ziry'sos us [It's ok]," she smiled taking the Autobot woman's hand as she helped her up.

"Ma, jini jin opgenuyt Erica [So, this is the infamous Erica]," Solarflare said and the Lantern girl could only assume she was smirking under her battle mask.

"Opgenuyt [infamous]?" Erica questioned looking to 'Bee as he just shrugged sheepishly.

The Prime's consort gave a light chuckle, "Sek, Bumblebee laz'vo nakho wersopm nūmāzma mae sash okeo hash mae ate jiōraton tat Earth, mae ki ma izdowif tat rhaenagon yer akka eshna Earthlings. Anha'rre ryptan sanekhi nūmāzma ei ki yeri itdeqefit [Yes, Bumblebee couldn't stop talking about his new friend when he first got to Earth, he was so excited to meet you and the other Earthlings. I've heard a lot about all of your escapades]."

"Ei ki eyak [All of them]?" Erica winced.

"Ei ki eyak."

The redhead woman blushed bright red thinking of all the stupid stunts they'd all pulled over the years, not even Optimus knew of all of it. And now Bumblebee's mother knew. She was gonna kill him.

"Wluyml, yer avvos tat udligon anna qaf: Hash yer Bumblebee's nayat'okeo [Though, you never did answer my question: Are you Bumblebee's girlfriend]?" Moonrider smirked placing a hand on her shoulder as Bumblebee made an indignant protest.

_"__Moonrider! Mae's vo anna nayat'okeo [She's not my girlfried]!"_

The golden-eyed woman seemed to pout, "Fehp, yer akat'ikh nefi tydl jin dywi duyqri [Darn, you two would've made such a cute couple]." She raised a brow, looking suspicious before her eyes widened, "Yer zin zhorre rek dhytl she Windblade, avvos yer [You still have that crush on Windblade, don't you]?"

_"__MOONRIDER!"_ 'Bee screamed his cheeks flushed bright blue.

The woman cheered, jumping in place at 'Bee's expense. "Anha spib me [I knew it]!"

Chuckling at their protests and faces, Solarflare interrupted, "Ajjin, ven san ven anha allayafi dewdlopm yatholat, anha shillolat kisha're kesīr ha jin gaomilaksir [Now, as much as I enjoy catching up, I believe we're here for a mission]?"

_"__Paktot, gurrub īlva [Right, follow us],"_ Bumblebee waved walking forwards towards the city.

Erica felt out of place as they walked through the city. Bumblebee had made a point of being stealthy when they were going to the rendezvous, but now he seemed happier to take his time to spend more time with his mother and aunt. Not that Erica could blame him, she'd give anything to see her parents again.

The downside was, that meant that they were getting attention from the natives who happened to be out at night. Fortunately, most seemed too scared or starstruck to try approaching the group. Guess it was fortunate to have what many races regarded as gods for friends.

That fact was proven when several of the authorities nervously tried to approach them and Solarflare shouted something in Cybertronian Erica wished her ring wouldn't translate. Needless to say, the men wet their pants and split so fast they left a burst of dust in their wake.

Walking up to Sardath's place, 'Bee opened the door, walking in where the others sat waiting all seeming to perk up when they returned.

_"__Everyone, meet my Aunt Moonrider,"_ Bumblebee introduced as the woman removed her helmet, revealing tanned skin with a scar near her brow, silvery-white hair that appeared to have feathers mixed in, and, her most notable feature, a pair of wolf ears sticking out from the top of her head. _"Sodjisto 'Rider rhaenagon Dr. Adam Strange, Conner, Miss Martian, Alana, akka Sardath."_

"Hi."

"Pleasure."

"It's an honor."

_"__And this is my mom, Solarflare."_ Solarflare removed her helmet, her dark lips tilting into a fanged smile.

"Podi naejot rhaenagon tolvys [Nice to meet everyone]."

"Uh…what did she say?" Connner questioned.

_"__Hello Megan!"_ 'Bee said smacking his forehead and turning to his fellow Autobots, _"Ma mori laz't tiholat yer haji yer hash vo kijinosi yothnhare pinr lekh-tiholat vekhikh Miss Martian et elat [So they can't understand you because you are not in the mind-link translator thing Miss Martian has going]."_

Solarflare gave a sound of understanding before turning to M'gaan and tapping her forehead. "Oh, right," she said, her eyes flashing.

"Ow, does it always hurt like that?" Solarflare questioned rubbing her head. "No wonder I still hate telepaths."

"No, Sounders never hurt that bad," Moonrider replied turning to give the Martian a scolding glare, "Work on that, you could kill people."

"So now that we're all here, Sardeth, have you learned anything more about why Earthlings aren't welcome in this corner of the galaxy?" Adam questioned.

He sighed loudly, "I'm afraid the Rahnian Science Command isn't very forthcoming about such issues to the public. Which is one reason why we've had to keep our inter-planetary zeta research…quiet. Science Command would not like it if they learned of it. The consequences for my daughter and I would be…severe."

"Which is why you didn't report any of your technology stolen," Adam added in.

"Exactly."

"I still don't get it," Conner spoke up, "Why all the hate for Earthings? How do they even know any Earthlings to hate?"

"I believe we can answer that," Moonrider stated walking forwards and one of the devices nearby activated showing a hologram of the six Justice Leaguers that disappeared for the sixteen hours. "Almost a quartex ago our ships received an influx of distress signals from a nearby planet known as Rhimbor. Believing it to be a Decepticon attack, we moved the fleet."

"When we arrived the attackers were gone," Solarflare continued, "however, we did learn of these six being involved. It was only a few joors later that Optimus got in contact with me explaining what happened."

"Excuse my interruption, but I must know, are you affiliated with these outlaws?" Sardath questioned.

Miss Martian moved to answer but Moonrider stepped forwards first, her ears flattening to her head, "And if they are?" she growled and he stopped, gulping slightly, "We have come to help with your little…issue. Unless you want these pests to keep stealing your tech? Our evidence suggests that they may have been framed for this crime. Of course, if you want to argue against _Optimus Prime_, go ahead, his consort is right here," she motioned to Solarflare and all the team couldn't help but notice how the alien scientist seemed to have all the blood drain from his face.

_"'__Bee, why is Sardath reacting like that?"_ M'gaan questioned getting a shrug in return.

_"__I can answer that,"_ Erica said crossing her arms, _"Cybertronians are regarded by most alien races as, well, for lack of a better term, gods. I imagine that Rahnians are one of these races. Angering a Cybertronian, let alone a Prime would be considered a huge taboo. Punishable by death."_

_"__Is that what the New Genesis guys meant by the 'Old Gods'?"_

_"__Yep."_

Sardath coughed, clearing his throat, "Ever since then, the Krolotans have placed out planetary watch alerts for every criminal in the League."

"Except my husband and his team," Solarflare remarked and the Rahnians winced.

"Yes…err—Anyways, it was the Krolotans who stole your tech and used it to get to Earth to launch an invasion, which is how they found out about the other Leaguers."

"I know, I told you that the last time you were here Adam," Sardath deadpanned and Adam facepalmed.

"Right, Krolotans, I misunderstood. I thought it was the Rahnian word for thief."

"It might as well be."

"Their entire culture revolves around stolen tech, we heard," Conner huffed crossing his arms. "The question is: what do we do about it?"

"My father's Zeta-Shield will help," Alana said pressing a button on the hologram projector and showing a diagram.

"If, I can perfect the design. Your primitive Zeta-Tubes would still function within its confines, but unauthorized travel between worlds would be impossible," her father explained. "In short, my shield will prevent more Krolotans from invading Earth and would trap the ones still entrenched there."

_"__What about Boom Tubes, Groundbridges, and Spacebridges?"_ 'Bee questioned raising a hand.

"Uh, no, I'm afraid those are a little too strong for my shield."

"In the meantime, Adam tells us you've located the Krolotan base on Rahn?" Miss Martian asked.

"Yes," he nodded, "but the jungles of Rahn can be quite dangerous, I would recommend a guide."

"We'll be fine," Solarflare said standing up and stretching, "we've handled worse environments, believe me. Just give us a map."

"We should disguise the Earthlings, leaving the city can be quite dangerous."

Solarflare raised an eyebrow, "Who do you think is going is to stop me?"

-.-

_"__That must be the Rhainian Science Command coming in for routine ID checks,"_ 'Bee said levelling a glare at the uniformed men at the other end of their cart as they got on the train.

_"__Are we going to need a distraction?"_ Superboy asked.

_"__No, they'll move along."_

Superboy and Miss Martian braced themselves as the saw the police turn seeming to freeze a moment at the sight of the three Cybertronains and the Lantern before walking forwards.

_"__Move it, we're not in the mood,"_ 'Bee snapped.

The men turned to Miss Martian, Emerald, and Superboy ready to ask them questions when Solarflare got up snapping her fingers, "Hey, they're with us, and I believe you were just told to beat it. What we're doing here is not your concern. Am I understood?"

"Y-Yes," the yelped.

"Then what are you still doing here? Move it!" she snarled and they darted away as she brushed her hair back smiling again. "Sorry about that kiddos, alien police can be really…stupid sometimes."

_"__Mathim, please stop traumatizing my friends."_

"I've done no such thing."

The teen raised an eyebrow, _"Yet. You haven't done it yet."_

"Primus, you're your father's son," she grumbled wearing a playful smile.

"As much as I enjoy seeing you two argue again, we should get ready, we'll be at the coordinates soon," Moonrider chuckled typing on the holoscanner. "Though…you two," she said motioning between Superboy and Miss Martian, "things seem tense, tough break-up?"

"How much farther to the coordinates?!" Superboy asked quickly.

_"__We're close enough,"_ 'Bee said opening the doors and jumping out.

"And that was definitely all you, Solar," Moonrider snickered as the woman laughed.

"Yep," she said leaping out as everyone else followed landing in the jungle below.

_"__Scanners say this way,"_ Bumblebee said leading the way.

The trek went fairly quickly, and before long, the group was crouching in the underbrush evaluating the facility before them.

_"__It's huge,"_ M'gann said.

_"__With something of this size, there's no way the Rahnian Science Command didn't know about this, even this far out in the jungle,"_ Moonrider grumbled her tail swinging into Conner. _"Sorry, just angry, I'll be having some choice words with them later."_

_"__Don't we not want them to know about this?"_

_"__Not yet, but when we finish, they'll just assume I ordered a recon mission,"_ Solarflare replied.

_"__They won't argue against you?"_ Miss Martian questioned. _"Demand to speak to your superior?"_

_"__Sweetspark, I am the superior. When it comes to command of the Autobots, Optimus and I are equals. There is no one higher than me. The governments of this sector know we patrol the areas."_

_"__Guys, if y'all are done chatting, you'll want to see this,"_ 'Bee said as Solarflare opened the holoscreen, revealing a massive room filled with Krolotans and several Zeta platforms. _"I've got your entrance, roof, right above the platforms."_

_"__Thanks Mal Kendov."_

_"__Welcome Mom."_

Emerald flew ahead as Solarflare and Moonrider jetpacked up, leaving M'gann to levitate Superboy up to the roof. Quietly going in, the found Bumblebee waiting for them on a hidden outcropping above the platforms.

_"__Who needs six Zeta Palforms?"_ Erica grumbled.

_"__They won't."_

_"__Superboy, got the explosives?"_

_"__Yep,"_ he replied opening his satchel and pulling out the pack.

_"__So primitive."_

_"__But effective sister."_

_"__Miss Martian and I will plant them,"_ Bumblebee replied taking some of the bombs.

_"__No," _Moonrider said placing a hand on his shoulder. _"I will plant the bombs, Bumblebee, disable their engines and any other necessary systems. We can't let them leave."_

Bumblebee nodded racing off into the shadows and vanishing.

Moonrider took the bombs and nodded to Miss Martian, before they both slid off, darting around the room setting up the trap. As they finished, a high-pitched alarm rang out and the apparent leader of the Krolotan group called out something. What it was became apparent when their exit ended up blocked.

_"__Lovely."_

The platforms began glowing and groups of Krolotans began arriving all yelling about something.

_"__Guess that means that the other teams have hit the bases on Earth,"_ Erica remarked.

_"__It would appear so."_

_"__New plan, y'all use the explosions as a distraction to reach the front door, I'll cause chaos back here,"_ Solarflare said, her cyan eyes shining with what could only be malice.

_"__Sister, please, we do not want an interplanetary incident."_

_"__You act like I care,"_ She said standing up and pulling out a scythe as the bombs went off, tossing unsuspecting Krolotans around the room.

_"__Can I help?"_ Erica asked.

_"__Mahtim!"_ 'Bee scolded from wherever he was.

_"__Ugh, fine, let's go!"_ she said and they raced through the doors and out into the relative safety of the jungle. "I'm going to kill the Rahnian Science Counsel!"

"Science Command."

"Whatever it was!" Solarflare exclaimed tossing her hands up in the air, "I'm going to tear them a new one!"

_"__I disabled all the major systems: life-support, engines, power, weapons, all offline as of 5 kliks ago,"_ 'Bee informed as he rematerialized behind them.

"Something's coming," Conner said and they all stopped looking back at him as he searched through their surroundings. "MOVE!"

An explosion went off where they were a moment before, rolling to their feet, they were greeted by several mecha tanks.

"Stand aside kids, this will be a synch," Moonrider smirked raising her fist as three Wolverine-like claws appeared as Solarflare pulled out her scythe again and Bumblebee flipped two short swords.

The three Cybertronians raced forwards, charging the tanks. Solarflare leapt up into the air, her scythe becoming alight with flame as she brought it down, cleaving one of the tanks in two. Moonrider was a blur as she raced past, her claw digging into the legs of the mecha, slicing through and causing it to fall on its side as Bumblebee flipped over the top, throwing his swords through the glass, likely killing the drivers.

"C'mon Conner, shouldn't let them have all the fun," Erica grinned.

Sharing his teammate's smile, they rushed for the next tank. Emerald landed in front of him, holding a shield construct. Jumping onto it, Superboy was launched into the air and he fell back towards the tank. Swinging his fist as he made impact, the cannon folded like putty as it was crushed under his fist, breaking the glass below it.

The Krolotans within screeched, scrambling out and attempting to race into the jungle. Only one of them wasn't so lucky as Solarflare picked it up. "Judging by that sash I'd wager you were a…Captain perhaps?"

Moonrider nodded and tapped her comms, "This is Commander Moonrider, I want the _Longbow, _the _Valiant, _and the _Artemis One _to rendezvous at our coordinates. Leave the rest of the fleet in its current position and await further orders. And send the message when those ships get here, keep an eye on the grounded ship and send ground forces: Krolotans. That is all."

Immediately after, three loud bangs echoes from above, and the group looked up staring at three massive Autobot warships how in orbit overhead. A few yards away a groundbridge opened and two men strode out. The first one wore orange, black, and red armor closely resembling that of a samurai, a small black beard outlined his face and he strode to Moonrider calmly. "Solarflare, Moonrider, groundbridged forces have secured and surrounded the Krolotan base. A few stragglers have escaped, but the scouts will collect them shortly."

"Good," Solarflare nodded. "Begin basic interspecies prison protocols."

The second arrivial stepped up, "Already initiated, basic supplies are already being distributed to the prisoners."

"Well then, add him to the group," she said tossing the Krolotan Captain to the black and white armored officer who caught him by the sash. "Prowl in charge until we return."

"Return from where?" he questioned raising a pale brow.

"We need to have a word with the leaders of this planet," Solarflare stated and the dark-skinned officer nodded.

"Sweetspark, I think you'll need to come with," Moonrider muttered pointing to Solarflare with her thumb, "you know how she can get."

The samurai nodded, "My pleasure."

"Commander."

"Yes Prowl?" Moonrider spoke.

"This one, what happened?" he motioned to a Krolotan soldier lying on the ground, drool dripping from his mouth as he remained unresponsive.

Superboy's, Emerald's, and Bumblebee's eyes widened and all heads snapped to Miss Martian. "What did you do?" Erica hissed.

"I found out what the Justice League did during the missing sixteen hours."

"We already told you of that," Solarflare snarled looming over the girl with blazing eyes. "You should count yourself fortunate that I am not punishing you here and now for this. _But_, I will be informing Optimus and I will escort you off this planet. Do anything else other than translate and I will make your life a personal pit, do I make myself clear?!"

M'gaan's face remained impassive as she nodded and Solarflare scowled.

"Drift, you go inform the leaders of this world that we're coming to have a discussion. Moonrider and I will escort them back."

"Yes My Lady," he bowed running off and vanishing into the jungle.

_"__Mom?"_ 'Bee prodded through their bond.

_"__How long has she been doing things like this?"_

_"__A little while, at first I thought it was an accident, but then it started happening more and more."_

_"__Have you told your father?"_

_"__Not yet, but Nightwing and I have been working to keep her off missions where her telepathic interrogation methods are needed."_

_"__Keep it that way, that girl has no control or restraint. Even Soundwave isn't as sparkless as that."_

_"__Understood,"_ 'Bee nodded.

-.-

"Uh, it was nice meeting all of you," Conner waved as they got onto the Zeta platform.

"The pleasure was ours," Solarflare smiled. "It was nice to see that 'Bee had made some friends. I hope we can all meet again under…less extenuating circumstances."

**A/N: here's the second chapter! I want to thank Mimzy94 for letting me use her OC in this story. I hope I captured her personality the way you imagined it. And don't worry if you don't see her for a bit, I have my plans ;)**


	3. The Krolotan Base

Chapter 3

**A/N: alrighty! Next chapter! I promise the first TFP chapters are coming soon, just be patient with me. now, I am forewarning y'all that some of them might be switched around for plot purposes, but I will try to incorporate those that I can.**

**/comms/**

**_Telepathy/flashbacks_**

**_"_****_Bee talking"_**

**STARR Labs, , January 5, 19:15EST**

"Sir, we're receiving an incoming Zeta, they are arriving now."

"Recognized: Adam Strange—A11, Superboy—B07, Miss Martian—B08, Bumblebee—B06, Emerald Lantern—B02."

"Emerald?" Nightwing breathed, his eyes wide.

"Hey, met up with them when my mission wrapped up, figured it'd be faster to Zeta back," she informed kissing his cheek.

"Zeta Squad, report."

_"__The co-opt mission to neutralize the Krolotan base on Rahn was a success. The Zeta-Platforms have been eliminated and currently the ship containing them is under Autobot Jurisdiction. Mom and Moonrider are currently sorting out the rest of the details with Rahn's government and will give their report soon,"_ 'Bee recited.

"I've also brought back schematics for a Zeta-Shield to prevent any more aliens from beaming to Earth from off-world," Strange added.

Captain Atom crossed his arms. "How will that affect our own Zeta-Capabilities? And how does it affect Groundbridges and Spacebridges?"

"Our own Zeta systems will be unaffected, the shield will activate at an altitude above the Watchtower's orbit. As for Groundbridges and Spacebridges, those are unfortunately too strong for the shield to stop, they will not be affected, but neither can we block off-world travel via those means."

Miss Martian then stepped forwards. "I also managed to interrogate a Krolotan officer on Rahn who had payed off a member of the Rahnian Science Council to allow the Krolotans to land a secret base in the Rahnian jungle. Once there, they stole Zeta-Platform technology from Strange's friend Sardath. They landed another ship in New Orleans and used the platforms to beam a few hundred Krolotans to Earth. They built more platforms, brought in more Krolotans and began abducting and replacing people perhaps as part of an invasion strategy. Though, that's still unclear."

_"__Furthermore, during our mission, we managed to obtain intelligence from Autobot forces regarding the Missing Sixteen Hours of the Light's attack several years ago,"_ Bumblebee continued and everyone stood straight.

Prime nodded, "Proceed."

_"__A quartex ago, our fleets received an influx of distress signals from a nearby planet known as Rhimbor. Assuming a Decepticon attack, our ships moved to intercept, but by the time they arrived the attack was over. They collected data determining that six superpowered beings went on a full rampage for sixteen hours; attacking everyone and everything in sight, proclaiming in several alien languages 'That we are the Justice League of Earth and that the rest of the galaxy should beware. Several joors later, Dad got in contact with my mother informing her of what happened and she connected the dots."_

M'gaan nodded in agreement, "That's what brought the Krolotans to Earth, the Justice League itself got their attention."

"I…I don't know what to say," Wonder Woman breathed, "I have no memories of this, none."

"Don't blame yourself, blame Savage and his Light," Atom reassured patting her shoulder. "Optimus, Emerald, John, how have none of you heard of this intergalactic incident?"

"No clue," John replied, "Rhimbor isn't a planet in my sector, but I'll head to Oa immediately to consult with the Guardians of the Universe."

"Emerald?"

"I just joined the Alpha Corps when it happened, in all honesty I could've lumped it with other incidents. That sector, let alone that planet, aren't known for being peaceful. The natives alone are hostile and corrupted as it is amongst themselves, never mind the presence of both Autobot and Decepticon blockades; intergalactic incidents are fairly regular as sad as it is to say."

Optimus raised his hand, lightly pressing his knuckles against his chin in contemplation, "I have not had communications open to the war fleet in some time, I leave it under my wife's command. It is fully possible she deemed the best course of action would be to not apprise me of the situation in order to keep our forces intact and on Earth rather than on trial in another system."

"Will you get in contact with them?" John asked.

The Prime nodded, "I will sort out the details about what is known about the situation and if necessary, I will prepare a ship to rendezvous with the accused and escort them to Rhimbor. In case Megatron is waiting out there to make his move and eliminate several of the League's most prominent figures."

"I wouldn't put it past Megatron," Nightwing agreed.

"In the meantime, we have a Krolotan invasion to handle. We need Miss Martian at the Hall of Justice. The rest of you, hit the showers and get some rest."

-.-

**Malina Island, January 6 23:32HAST**

"Remember, this is primarily a recon mission. We want to gather all the intel we can before apprehending them and handing them over to the Green Lantern Corp," Batman reminded as the Bioship flew towards the island. "Ratchet, is Prime's team a go?"

/Affirmative Batman, Drop Zone Alpha is reached, Groundbridge on emergency standby/

"Approaching Drop Zone Beta," Nightwing spoke.

In the back, Emerald, Aquaman, and La'gaan stepped back as a hole opened in the bottom of the ship. Leaping out, they dove into the water swimming towards the entrance.

"Simeo'se Annex [Together My King]?"

"Simeo'se La'gaan."

Erica made a construct and forced the doors open. Shrugging as the two men looked at her looking rather annoyed she swam ahead, letting the two follow her.

Up on the surface, Nightwing pulled the Bioship to a stop. "Drop Gamma."

Jumping out of the ship, the Batfamily stealthily made its way to the entrance, ambushing the unsuspecting guards and sliding inside, where—if everything was going according to plan—the other teams would already be waiting.

Splitting from his protégés, Batman slid beside Optimus who was silently observing from the shadows. "What do you have so far?"

"They're building a ship to evacuate the planet, so far the others have informed me of several conversations regarding profit and a 'competitor' one of them was even attacked by one of this competitor's forces just last night," he replied.

"Anything else?"

A blast rang out and they turned and saw the leader attacking the water, falling back as a green flail flew out, nearly knocking his helmet off. So much for the element of surprise.

"There!" one of Manta's men shouted and began firing at Robin below them.

Batman flipped over the rail kicking the attackers aside. Turning to face the approaching group, he stood down as Batgirl leap in from the doorway throwing one over her shoulder as Nightwing kicked the second aside.

A blue and red form fell past, and they saw Prime land in on an unfortunate tank below, quickly picking up the crushed object up and tossing it into the soldiers firing at Emerald up above. Meanwhile Aquaman and La'gaan used the distraction to tackle the other two close to them, knocking their lights out as the burst from below the surface.

The rest of the mechs began detaching themselves from the project, jumping to the ground and stomping towards the second squadron.

"IT'S HAMMER TIME!" Bulkead's voice rang out and there was an eruption of dust and a shockwave as the robust Cybertronian man landed on the first tank.

Up on the platforms, Batman continued to drive men back. picking up one he tossed him into another before rolling back as a shot landed where he'd once stood. Grabbing a batarang, he prepared to throw it before stopping as a blue-armor-clad woman swung down onto the platform across from him, kicking his attacker into a wall. Sparing him a quick nod, Arcee pulled out her wrist-blades, fearlessly charging the men coming towards her. With that, Batman armed his weapon and hurled it at the platform filling with men ready to shoot them, ducking behind a rock as it exploded sending them all falling to the ground.

"Emerald! Maneuver seven!" Nightwing called punching a trooper trying to get the drop on him. racing to the edge of the platform, he leapt off landing on a green trampoline and leaping up onto the platform above him, spin kicking the two men about to shoot his girlfriend as Robin beat the others with his bo-staff.

Aquaman leapt at Manta, who flipped out of the way, and fired his lasers, hitting the Atlantean king in the shoulder and sending him flying back into a wall.

_"__Hey!"_ 'Bee called getting the villain's attention as he held a sparking mech by the leg, _"if I were you, I'd pick on something as big as your ego."_ Swinging the mecha over his shoulder, Manta fired, his lasers doing little to damage the target before he had to roll out of the way lest get crushed to death. A green baseball bat met the side of his helmet, sending him skidding across the ground.

"Manta to Partner, the base has been infiltrated."

/Partner to Manta, the device has been primed. You have five minutes. Get your men out, the bomb will take care of the rest/

"Manta to tall troopers: Endgame enabled," he began dodging incoming swings from Emerald as the Lantern continued to come dangerously close to possibly killing him with her baseball bat, "retreat to Manta flier, you have four minutes!"

"Four minutes for what?!" Erica questioned appearing on his left and swining up nearly decapitating him. When did she change her bat to an axe?

"Nightwing to Delta Squad, Enemy's attempting to escape, request back-up!"

"Wait!" Erica called as Superman blasted his way in, taking out one of the mechs attempting to attack Aquaman and La'gaan.

"Nice aim," Aquaman nodded to Clark as he and Superboy landed, while Wonder Woman and her protégé proceed to go after something else.

"X-Ray vision, I cheated."

A crash came from behind and they saw Prime standing on the crushed form of what once had been a mech. With only a nod as greeting, he settled into a crouch and vaulted Bumblebee up onto the ship. The teen pulled out a knife, lodging himself to the side of it. _"I'll need a minute to dismantle the engines."_

"You may not have that minute," Erica said flying over.

_"__What?"_

"Manta said something about four minutes, I think he was talking about a countdown."

_"__Understood. Bumblebee to all, possible bomb on sight, find and dismantle immediately if found."_

The Autobots and Batfamily nodded, quickly fanning out to locate the threat while everyone else continued to fight. Wonder Woman threw her lasso around the bug-like head of one of the tanks. Ripping it off she swung it into another mech, all the while, her protégé continued to gawk.

"That was AMAZING! You just—you just WOOSH! And then you just—and then you—" Cassie began before she was cut off as Wonder Woman pulled her behind her and blocked the incoming blasts with her gauntlets as Arcee raced over and used har wrist blades to slice the guns off the mech before picking it up and slamming it onto another approaching one.

"A little less fangirl and a little more Wonder Girl," Wonder Woman scolded.

"Right!"

"Three minutes to departure!" Manta called rolling under Emerald's next swing before getting blindsided by Aquaman. The commander was sent sliding across the floor, his helmet continuing to roll even after had had stopped.

Kaldur stood up, staring his old king and mentor with nothing but hatred in his eyes. "I had not believed Nightwing until this very moment," he whispered

"You did not want to believe!"

"None of us wanted to believe this!" Superboy exclaimed. "How could you betray us?"

"You dare question me?! AFTER ALL OF YOU LET TULA DIE?!" he screamed as his waterbearers formed into blades.

Nightwing and Bumblebee landed beside Emerald, "Kaldur that was a mission, Aquagirl knew the risks. No one wanted—"

"NEPTUNE'S BEARD!" La'gaan exclaimed walking forwards, "Don't coddle this traitor, he's joined forces with our king's greatest enemy!"

Emerald pushed him back, "Stay out of this La'gaan!"

"Did you mean the king who hid the true identity of my father?!"

"That was my error in judgement Kaldur'ahm. No one else need suffer for it."

"All will suffer if Black Manta demands it," he replied. "Blood is thicker than seawater." A missile fired from his shoulder and Bumblebee reached out, catching it in his fist, smoke erupting from between his fingers as it blew up.

As the smoke cleared everyone coughed only to see that he was gone. "Continue the battle," Emerald said getting nods from the two Atlanteans before turning to 'Bee. "Any luck finding the bomb?"

He shook his head. _"Not yet, I fear it lies wherever Kaldur and Nightwing went to."_

"Can we go after it?"

_"__Likely not without arousing suspicion. And I could be wrong. This island is full of tunnels, there's no way we'll be able to search them all in time. Our best bet is evacuating."_

"I'll check the tunnel and see if Nightwing chased after Kaldur, you two start rounding up everyone!" Conner nodded leaping down the hole as they began racing after the others.

/Found the bomb/ Nightwing commed in /alien tech, I cannont disarm/

/Which Autobot is closest?/

/No time, there's no telling what sort of traps are within it. All squads evacuate to either Bioship or emergency groundbridge position. Now!/

/Opening groundbridge now/ Ratchet's voice called.

"YOU HEARD NIGHTWING! MOVE!" Batman shouted.

Everyone began to scatter, making a construct, Erica let the others racing towards the Bioship by foot hop on and fly out with her. Nearby she could see the blue glow of the groundbridge and make out the forms of Aquaman, La'gaan, Conner and Nightwing rushing through as Bulkhead and Arcee held position.

The Bioship's ramp opened allowing the rest of them to board where Miss Martian and Martian Manhunter sat waiting. Manhunter step forwards handing Batman a file. "Well done Alpha Squad."

A com-screen opened with the Autobots and Optimus appeared, his blue eyes flickering over to each of them. /Is everyone accounted for?/

"Who followed you to Base?" Batman questioned.

/We have Nightwing, Aquaman, Lagoon Boy, Bulkhead, Arcee, Bumblebee, and Superboy/

"That means we're missing Superman," Batman stated.

Ratchet shoved his way onto the screen, /Provide coordinates for his location/

"Countdown's finished!" Emerald exclaimed as the island went supernova. The comms temporarily fritzed out as the Bioship got caught in the shockwave, nearly sending it spiraling out of control. Stabilizing themselves, they got a fix on Superman's coordinates and fished him out of the water.

"Ratchet, lock onto our coordinates, we have a casualty," Batman ordered.

-.-

**Autobot Base, January 7, 1:15MDT**

"Breathing is slightly off, but oxygen levels are rising. Pulse is steady," Ratchet recited as Superboy anxiously loomed nearby. "He'll recover, just might need to take it easy and be monitored for a day or two till we're sure there's no water in his lungs."

Superboy nodded, feeling relieved that his mentor and brother was safe. "He didn't save the Krolotans. He won't be alright with that."

Ratchet sighed, "Sometimes…there's just those that we can't save. No matter how hard we try. Clark gave it everything he had to reason with them and they still didn't listen. What lead to their deaths was their own arrogance, not Clark's actions." The medic attached an oxygen mask to the Man of Steel and strode to the monitor typing quietly. "Conner, did you manage to get a look at that bomb?"

Superboy nodded. "Yeah, Nightwing agreed that its origin is alien, just not the Krolotans."

"Yes, it would seem they know nothing about it," Optimus agreed making the clone jump. "I apologize, I did not mean to startle you Conner."

"It's alright Prime."

The man nodded, looking to his medic, "Ratchet?"

"He'll be fine. Just needs to be monitored for a few days before I clear him for active duty."

"Good. It is paramount we determine the origin of this bomb, before our enemies can utilize such similar methods again, to possibly do worse damage."

-.-

**North Pacific, 7:07HAST**

"Father," Kaldur greeted entering his father's chambers.

"Congratulations Kaldur," Black Manta spoke cutting into his fish, "you did well. I don't suppose Aquaman died in the explosion?"

"Unlikely."

He sighed wiping his lips with a napkin. "Pity."

An alarm came from the next room, and Black Manta set down his glass standing up and grabbing his helmet. "If you'll excuse me."

Walking into the antechamber, Black Manta stood before the leaders of the Light: Queen Bee, Klarion Witch Boy, Lex Luthor, Ras al'Ghul, the Brain, Vandal Savage, and Lord Megatron.

**"****Good morning Black Manta,"** Savage greeted. **The Krolotans' competitor, our new partner, is quite pleased with your efforts and so is the Light. All agree we made the right choice asking you to replace poor, disgraced Ocean Master. You are officially one with the Light."**


	4. Decepticon Schemes

Chapter 4

**A/N: alright, so this chapter was inspired by the TFP videogame for the Nintendo. And, since I figured there was some stuff I had cut out in the regular series, I thought this could fit into the storyline quite well.**

**/comms/**

**_Telepathy/flashbacks_**

**_"_****_Bumblebee/Soundwave talking."_**

**"'****Bee and someone else speaking at the same time."**

**Earth's Atmosphere, January 15, 22:35MDT**

/The anchor's are holding Lord Megatron. Output readings remain stable/

"Perfect, then the dark energon contained within the meteor will soon be mine" he mused standing on the top of his warship, gazing out to the massive meteor attached behind. Soundwave had retrieved the signals some time ago, resulting in a momentary departure from Earth. But no doubt his allies continued on with their plans during his time away.

-.-

Alarms blared throughout the Autobot Base, causing whoever was present to race into the main hangar as Ratchet stood on the top of the platform typing quickly with Robin.

"Robin, are you certain these readings are correct?"

"Completely," Robin replied curtly. "I'm still trying to figure out what's causing it, but something's making the dark energon scanners go off the chart." Biting his lip he continued typing, eyes narrowing as he got a hit. "This can't be good."

"What?" Beast Boy questioned hopping up behind Robin III, "What is it?"

"I just hacked into the Watchtower's scanners, and according to this, there's been a sighting of the Nemesis, with something big trailing behind it."

"Then we have little time to waste," Optimus said turning to his team. "Autobots, are you ready?"

"Just let me at 'em," Arcee snarled punching her fist into her palm.

"Time to feed them to the scrapheap!" Bulkhead grinned practically leaping over to his car.

_"__Finally, some real action,"_ 'Bee smirked.

"Just come back in once piece," Nightwing said ruffling his hair.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him," Erica said kissing her boyfriend's cheek.

"Go kick some 'Con butt, Em."

"Was planning on it."

"Awesome! Can we come too?!" Cassie exclaimed landing in front of the older hero.

"Sorry Cas, you'll have to sit this one out," Bulkhead scolded and she and a few of the others pouted.

/Optimus/ Batman called.

"We already know."

The Dark Knight nodded, /Superman and the Lanterns are already en route, they'll rendezvous with you at the Nemesis/

"Understood," he said getting into his semi. "Autobots, transform and roll out!"

With the screech of tires, the group—plus Emerald—shot through the groundbridge and landed on the Nemesis that was already in a heated fight with Superman and the Green Lanterns.

Splitting off from the 'Bots, Erica shot towards her old mentor, creating a battering ram and slamming through the several vehicon troopers attempting to blast through their shields. Nodding at her, they flew in different directions, leaving her to handle these guys. Erica grinned, cracking her knuckles, this was gonna be fun.

About five soldiers flew at her, and Erica shot down, turning into a green blur as she wove her way through the shots fired at her. Throwing her fist out, a similarly-shaped construct appeared, grabbing one of the troopers and hurling him into one of his buddies.

Smirking at her handiwork, her moment was unfortunately ruined at the hum of engines. "Right. Two down, three to go." Flying towards them, she made a spear, hurling it through the first fighter. Without pausing to see if the Cybertronian craft exploded, she changed the construct to a sword, moving to slice the second. She stopped as soon as she saw the other one out of the corner of her eye.

Pulling up a shield at the last second, Erica spun back from the force. Reorienting herself, the fringes of her uniform began to turn red, expressing her frustration. She was pretty sure she left a shockwave when she blasted towards her attacker. Keeping her shield up, she barreled into his vehicle, ripping through it and grinning as she watched him get nearly flattened against it like a bird on glass. With a screeching halt, her target spun wildly into the Nemesis, impacting hard enough to make a dent.

That made the redhead grimace, she'd hear all about that next time she payed a visit to the Nemesis.

The sound of a blast caught her attention and she turned seeing smoke from near the hangar entrance; the generator, Prime must've reached it. And, judging from the smoke, her dent was now a tiny problem.

Awesome.

It was only when the meteor got caught in Earth's gravity, did she truly realize one tiny problem: did they ever completely think this plan through?

Joining with her fellow Lanterns and Superman, they gathered under the dark object. If that thing really was going to fall to Earth, they had to stop it.

The massive dark energon hunk jerked to a stop, and Erica could barely glimpse the beams coming from the Nemesis. The 'Cons had it, again.

/Scrap, the 'Cons had a back-up plan/ Arcee grumbled.

Blaster fire started up again, and Erica jumped as a shield appeared next to her blocking the shots from the trooper she missed. "Focus!" Hal scolded, blasting it back.

"Where was that so called 'focus' earlier Hal?" Erica scowled as he flew after the 'Con, here she was a fully-fledged hero, and her ex-mentor was still trying to baby her. She was nineteen for Pete's sakes!

/Optimus, we can't get a good shot at the anchor lines from here/

/I'm going to jump down to the meteor, Superman, Lanterns, when I cut the lines, eject it out into space and destroy it. We cannot let Megatron get his hands on more dark energon/

/After you cut those lines, get into the Groundbridge!/ Ratchet ordered.

As soon as those words were said, John gave a shout. Tall, dark, and still as ugly as ever was joining the fight. And to make matters worse, Optimus had started cutting the lines.

Oh, how quickly a smooth mission could go to the pit.

"I've got him," Superman said flying at him.

Megatron flew up, spinning through space before flipping and firing right down at the Man of Steel. Clark was blasted back, right into John and sent them spiraling. Either too concerned about Prime to deal with her, or too pleased about her odds against a falling meteor to care, Megatron flew to the top. Leaving Erica, alone, against the meteor.

Making a massive barrier, Erica began fighting gravity. Where the pit were the others?!

Those concerns were quickly tossed aside when the first rumble came followed by a crack almost splitting the meteor in two.

/Guys! The dark energon readings are spiking hard!/ Robin warned. /Be careful!/

/Something's wrong with the meteorite!/ Bulkhead called as the shaking got worse.

That was all the warning given before the dark energon split apart with a roar and everything went black.

-.-

"Shame the Autobots can't fly," Arachnid smirked as she stepped up behind Megatron as he calmly strode onto the bridge. "Pity you got rid of all of them in one fell swoop, I would've liked to be the one to end Arcee."

Megatron wrapped hand around her thin neck. "If the Autobots could be defeated by simply dropping them, then we would've already done that," he snarled tossing her back. "So, get down there and finish them!"

Pushing her hair back, Arachnid tried to keep herself from lunging at Megatron's throat. She had to be patient, then she could kill him. All good things to those who wait. Putting on a false smile, she turned to Knockout and Breakdown. "You heard the boss."

"And sweep the area where the largest parts of the meteor landed. I want it recovered!"

-.-

**Autobot Base: 23:45MDT**

Nightwing's leg tapped impatiently as he sat by Erica's bed in the med bay. She and the others had been out cold since a barely conscious Superman had managed to get them through the Zeta Tube from the Watchtower. Well, managed to get himself and the other Lanterns through before passing out; none of the Autobots had been with them. And they weren't still out in space considering several of the Leaguers had already searched the battle area and Earth's orbit and the surrounding space extensively.

Right now, Tim and the Doc were trying to pick up their signals.

"GUYS!" Tim shouted. "I'VE GOT SOMETHING!"

Speak of the devil.

Getting up, Dick gave his unconscious girlfriend one last glance before going to figure out what the Robin had discovered. Hopefully nothing too bad.

"What is it?"

"Have you found them?"

"Are the 'Bots ok?"

"What happened to the meteor?"

"Slow down," Ratchet said narrowing his eyes before looking back to the boy. "Robin?"

Tim nodded, "Ok, so the atmospheric database just uploaded some new data. They track every major meteor coming into Earth's atmosphere, and according to it, it landed," he typed some coordinates, "here: The Amazon Rainforest."

"Meaning that's most likely where the 'Bots are, given that dark energon blocks their life signals," Superboy growled.

Ratchet nodded, "If anyone came down with the meteor, they'll need help. Miss Martian, Superboy come with."

"Hey! How come they get to go?!" La'gaan whined.

Ratchet didn't even turn as he typed their destination into the groundbridge controls. "Because, unlike the lot of you they've been cleared to up against Decepticons and are fully aware of the repercussions on dark energon on the organic body. That, and their skills will help me bring anyone who's injured back to base with relative ease. Nightwing, you're in charge, man the groundbridge."

"Yes sir," Dick saluted as the medic climbed into the ambulance, Conner holding onto the outside as they drove through with M'gaan flying above. Lord hope they got everyone back safely.

The groundbridge closed, and the alarm began going off.

"What's going on?!" Garfield called.

"More meteorites?" Blue Beetle grumbled crossing his arms as he looked at the world map on the screen. "Yes I'm sure! What else could they be? Fine! Be that way!"

Ignoring their possibly insane teammate, Dick and Tim typed sighing in relief as they realized what they were, life signals. "Autobot life signals," he breathed and there was a collective sigh.

"But Ratchet isn't here," Mal spoke up.

Nightwing looked at the signals and made his decision. "Ok, we don't know how long we have till the 'Cons know their locations, they might already be on their way. So, we're splitting up into teams. Mal, you're in charge of the groundbridge and maintaining comms. Blue Beetle, La'gaan, and Wasp; the closest signal, I want you three to take the Bioship and pick them up. Beast Boy, Wonder Girl, you two are going after the signal in Egypt. Batgirl, Robin, and I will go after the signal in Siberia."

"What about the League? Could they help?" Beast Boy questioned.

"There's not enough time to call and make a plan," Nightwing reminded. "If things get hairy, Mal can call them in for an assist. You know your missions, let's go!"

**-.-**

**Jasper**

"Ugh," Arcee groaned getting to her feet. Darkness consumed her vision for a moment, making her nearly fall as she slowly regained her bearings. "Jasper? How…?" Her face scrunched up in confusion, how'd she get here? Wasn't she in space? The last thing she remembered was that meteorite exploding. "Must've crash landed," she murmured, holding her bleeding arm, "probably scrambled my processor and I stumbled back here in a daze."

Further proof of that lied not several meters ahead in the form of her bike. She must've really been out of it.

"Ratchet? Optimus? Do you read?" she called.

/They're out at the moment/ a familiar, but surprising voice spoke /Glad to see you're alive Arcee/

"Guardian," she greeted, "where's everyone?"

/Out rescuing you all. You took a dive from space. Gamma is on their way in the Bioship/

"Good to hear, my bike's busted."

/ETA ten minutes/

Hearing engines, the femme glowered, "Make it five, I'm expecting company."

Two troopers landed, aiming their guns at her. Fortunately, Arcee didn't need her vehicle to win. Darting across the ground, she raced towards the closest one, climbing up his armor and using her wrist-blades to slice through anything that looked relatively important. One thing she hit clearly was cause the entire leg gave out. Rolling to the ground, she caught the falling "Transformer" as the younger members of the Young Justice League had taken to calling it, shoving it away from her.

Now for the other one. This guy seemed to be figuring out what she was trying to do, but fortunately, guns weren't the best equipped for going after something small and fast. Flipping in the air as he lunged for her, she sprinted up the arm, flipping and slicing through the wires of the elbow plating. Landing on her feet, she dove between fingers as he attempted to snatch her again. digging her blades into the optics, she affectively blinded the driver.

A gunshot hit her back, knocking Arcee off the vehicon and onto the ground, cracks spreading from her impact. The first opponent had finally found the guts to emerge.

Glancing back to the second target, Arcee couldn't help but smirk as an idea came to her. She was going to enjoy this. Without a second to rethink things, she bolted towards the first soldier. The man seemed to get more panicked as she approached, his aim becoming shaky and less accurate. It was more than enough to let her swipe his legs out from under him. Grabbing a leg as the limb flailed uselessly in the air, Arcee hurled the first fragger into the second fragger. The two men were knocked back, and as they got up, made easy kills with quick shots to the head.

She didn't get long to enjoy her victory, not with the sickeningly familiar sound of helicopter blades approaching. "Arcee."

Turning, the Autobot woman scowled at the Decepticon smiling darkly at her as she leaned casually against the vehicle. "Arachnid. Still afraid to do the dirty work?"

The older woman twirled her multi-colored hair, almost pouting "Why Arcee? Don't you know me better than that? I was so glad to see that you survived the fall. It would've been a pity to find your spark extinguished." A malicious grin split her face, "I do want the pleasure of extinguishing that myself."

"I'm about to make you wish you had," Arcee snarled firing at her.

Arachnid flipped away onto the side of a building, her extra legs carrying her like she was simply taking a stroll on a summer morning. "Tell you what Arcee, I was planning on crushing you in my servo, but a standard fight does sound just as fun. At least I'll get to watch your eyes as the life drains from your body." With that declaration, the insecticon femme launched herself off the wall, tackling Arcee as they rolled through the refinery.

Punching her nemesis in the face, Arcee was proud to hear a cry of pain accompany the crack as her fist met Arachnid's nose. Energon spurted out, and Arcee pulled out her gun, firing and forcing the 'Con to leap back or lose her head.

Springing to her feet, Arcee was slammed back as she was kicked in the chest. She rolled along the ground, grunting in pain as Arachnid's leg met with her gut, kicking her up into the air. Before she could take aim, Arcee saw a hole open up under her as something slightly distorting the air moved in and swallowed her up. She crashed into the floor of the Bioship beside her bike.

"Oi, that looked painful," Blue Beetle grimaced.

"Arcee?" Wasp questioned her dark brown eyes wide with worry.

"GO!" she ordered as Arachnid began to fire.

Flying up into the cool night air, they could hear Arachnid's enraged cry.

Once she was sure they were out of range, Arcee allowed herself to relax. "How're the others?"

"Don't know yet," La'gaan spoke up, "the others are still looking."

"Don't worry, we'll find them," she said trying to sound reassuring. So why did it fell like things were about to get a whole lot worse before they got better?

**A/N: hey everyone! Glad to be back for another chapter! Now, just so y'all know, updates after this point are going to be less frequent and more random because my semester starts next week. So if I don't update for a little while, don't worry, I'm not dead, just working on other stories, this story, or attempting to survive college. It's been great seeing all've y'all's reviews! And I look forwards to hearing from y'all again in the next chapter!**


	5. Missing

Chapter 5

**A/N: alrighty, hope y'all're enjoying this little situation our friends seem to have gotten themselves into, I look forwards to writing it all. Once again, the OCs and story belong to me, nothing else besides that I own (sadly).**

**/comms/**

**_Telepathy/flashbacks_**

**_'_****_Bee talking_**

**Egypt, January 11, 6:45**

"…bulk…"

"…Bulk…"

"BULK!"

Optics onlining, Bulkhead groaned ignoring the energon dribbling down his face as he gaze at the screen showing Wonder Girl and Beast Boy sitting on his chest. "What're you doin' here? I told ya to stay at base," he tiredly grumbled.

"Dude, are you ok?" Garfield asked.

Sitting up, Bulkhead looked around as he sat in pile of debris in an ancient ruin. "…What happened?"

The kids shared worried glances. "Don't you remember, Bulk? You fell from space?"

That explained a lot, especially why everything hurt. "Now I know why my dents have dents," he muttered. "Where're the others?"

"We're still looking," Beast Boy innocently shrugged.

"You know, for dropping out of orbit, you're looking remarkably intact," a mocking voice rang out and they all turned to see a familiar ex-Wrecker as he stood high above them on the edge of the hole Bulkhead made in the cave roof during his crash. "Ya won't be lookin' that good for long." Wearing a smirk, all eyes widened as the bomb in his hand was dropped.

"Get in!" Bulkhead exclaimed grabbing the young shapeshifter and pushing Cassie towards the exit. Transforming around the green teen, Bulkhead put petal to the metal as he drove after the Amazon girl.

"Whoa," Beast Boy breathed from where he sat in the passenger seat. "That was wicked."

Wonder Girl punched their way through the debris as they drove through the collapsing ruins, narrowly avoiding drop offs into a dark abyss. "I see a light!" Cassie exclaimed flying forwards like a rocket.

Activating the boosters, Bulkhead was a swift follow, transforming in the air as he reached out to catch Beast Boy, whom turned into a bird catching himself. "THAT WAS SO AWESOME!"

"Aw darn! I didn't get to get a souvenir!"

"Guys," Bulkhead admonished. He didn't get the chance to scold them however, due to the welcoming party that came to meet them.

"Let's give 'em some knuckle sandwiches!" Wonder Girl grinned pulling out her lasso. Tossing it at the nearest trooper, she grinned as it wrapped around his massive arm. She always wonted the chance to do this. Swinging the rope back-and-forth, the trapped limb made contact with the faceplate repeatedly. "Why're you hittin' yourself?!"

Wonder Woman's protégé would later confess she did not think her plan through.

The soldier grabbed the rope, yanking her towards him. Choosing to go with it, Cassie flew faster, landing a punch on the head, sending him stumbling back into Gar. The T-Rex's tail swiped his legs out from under him, making the trooper land flat on his back. at last things he saw was a small green bird flying away that was suddenly obscured by Bulkhead's undercarriage as he belly-flopped onto him.

"You kids alright?" the Wrecker huffed getting up and unsuccessfully wiping energon off of him.

"Great! Where's the rest?!" Cassie exclaimed before pouting. Seems Bulk beat her to them.

"No time, let's move!" Walking cautiously through the narrow canyon, the trio made their way to a gorge.

"The groundbridge's over on the other side!"

Bulkhead, blinked from where he peered around his rock. Of course, the other side, right where the rest of the Decepticreep welcoming party sat waiting. Fan-fragging-tastic.

To make an already bad situation even better, Wonder Girl—once again—took a little too much initiative. Flying over to the other side, she lassoed a boulder, lifting it off the ground and using it to hit several of the soldiers trying to fire at her.

"Beast Boy, hang back!" Bulkhead ordered transforming and driving towards a ledge. Leaping off, he flew to the other side, catching himself in a roll. Getting to his feet, Bulkhead began firing on the heavy hitters trying to fire at the impulsive girl. Punching through their shields, they proceeded to beat the living scrap out of one another till Bulkhead knocked the first one's lights out. Number two didn't take too long to follow his buddy. Several more drove in, but Bulkhead didn't even bother to wait for them to transform as he picked them up, hurling them over the edge of the cliff down into the gorge below.

"HEY GUYS!" Garfield called waving his arms from the other side. "I FOUND THE EXIT!"

A minute and almost death later, Bulkhead joined the two teens as they waited by two ancient arches leading into the remnants of a plaza. Where Breakdown stood waiting. "So, you made it," he huffed. "Can't say I'm surprised, those tiny rocks probably wouldn't have covered your big aft."

"Beast Boy, Wonder Girl, go and hide!" he ordered raising his fists.

"But—!"

"Now!" he growled leaving no room for argument from the blonde.

Beast Boy shifted into what appeared to be a tiny lizard, easily crawling into one of the large cracks of the cliffside. Wonder Girl made do with the ruins of a collapsed hut. Hopefully it would be enough to keep them both out of the way.

Firing his gun as he charged, Bulkhead's wrecking ball collided with Breakdown's hammer. Breakdown broke the stalemate first when he used his other arm to punch Bulkhead's helm. The ground shook as he landed on his back. As Breakdown's hammer swung down to finish him off, Bulkhead rolled out of the way, shooting him in the face. taking advantage of his temporary blindness, Bulkhead uppercut with his wrecking ball, grinning as his frenemy went soaring into the air only to come back down as gravity won out, sending him slamming to the earth with a crash. Dust erupted from the crater Breakdown made, and Bulkhead strode over, raising his fist. "Any last words?"

Breakdown only smirked, "Yeah, how're the pets?"

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!"

Bulkhead whipped around to see troopers going after the kids. Cassie struggled against the hold, attempting to use her strength to break out, as Beast Boy continued to hide in the rocks.

Unfortunately in his distraction, Bulkhead didn't see Breakdown's hammer coming towards his head. The next thing the Autobot was aware of, was sitting up and staring in horror as the Decepticon groundbridge closed.

"WONDER GIRL!"

-.-

**Decepticon Mine, Siberia 7:55**

Pain, that was the first thing Bumblebee registered as consciousness slowly returned to him. Most of it seemed to be coming from his shoulders, which felt like they were being pulled up; it felt like he was lying limp in cuffs hanging from the ceiling again.

Blearily opening his eyes, he groaned in discomfort as his previous thought was proven as reality. He was captured, probably waiting for transport to the Nemesis for a proper Decepticon interrogation.

Like he'd talk.

"Psst! 'Bee!"

"Bumblebee!"

Lifting his head, cyan eyes flickered around the room before settling on one of the large vents, showing Nightwing, Batgirl, and Robin crouching inside.

_"__G-Guys? What're y'all doin' here?"_ he hissed.

"Rescuing you," Batgirl huffed.

"Just hold on, I think I can get through those restraints," Robin called typing on a holomonitor.

"I'll get the door open," Nightwing whispered slinking off.

To his relief, the electric cuffs around his wrists fizzled out of existence, letting him drop to the floor. _"Thank Primus,"_ he groaned rolling his shoulders as the Boy Wonder and Batgirl hopped down.

"Are you ok?"

_"__I've been better, but it's not too bad. I'll manage."_

The cell door opened with a hiss and Nightwing stood on the other side. "Let's go! Elevator's this way!"

Taking the lead Bumblebee sprinted down the halls, cursing as the alarms began to go off; they didn't have much time before a horde of troops would converge on their location. Spotting several soldiers in their way, he began going faster, ready to intercept before they reached his friends.

It didn't take the soldiers long to spot their escaped prisoner, quickly pulling out their guns and firing at him as he sprinted towards them, shots bouncing off his armor. Approaching the first three, Bumblebee leapt into the air, spin-kicking them and sending two falling off the platform. The third one fall to the ground, unable to recover before a knife was stabbed into his neck.

Ripping the blade out, he hurled it at the incoming men, hitting the frontrunner with enough accuracy to make Barbra grimace as the man dropped dead to the ground as their Autobot companion shot forwards, flipping and kicking the second officer off the platform like his buddies.

Picking up his knife, 'Bee cleaned the energon off, nodding to his teammates, _"Let's move."_

The group raced down the hall, quickly springing up the stairs towards their destination. "There's the elevator!" Tim called running faster before skidding to a stop as a groundbridge opened and two soldiers emerged leveling their blasters at him. He flipped back out of the way as they fired, too distracted with hitting him to notice the other members of the Batfamily making their move.

Batgirl attacked first, her explosive batarangs lodging in one trooper's armor and blasting him back into the wall. Nightwing followed suit, hitting his target with electric versions instead, and racing forwards, knocking the soldier's feet out from under him.

Bumblebee forced the door open, stepping into the room and getting a bearing on his environment. That's when he noticed the red dot resting over his sparkchamber; snipers. _"Move!" _he ordered rolling out of the way as the sniper fired.

"DON'T LET THE PRISONER GET FURTHER! TAKE CARE OF HIM AND HIS ACCOMPLACES HERE!"

The blasters on 'Bee's arms activated, and he rolled out from behind his hiding spot, firing at the opposing sniper. The man was knocked off his perch, hitting the ground with a loud crash.

To his right, an explosion went off and 'Bee whirled, raising his blasters before stopping himself as he saw a downed trooper still smoking. Probably one of the Bats, soon proven by Tim attacking one soldier with his electrified Bo-staff while Batgirl distracted him. Shaking his head, he continued his task; he couldn't afford to get distracted right now.

The sniper had just began to get back to his feet as a yellow and black clad fist made contact with his helm. Picking up the unconscious man by his ankles, 'Bee swung and tossed him straight into a Vehicon about to get the drop on Nightwing. Hearing footsteps behind him, 'Bee flipped back, grabbing the approaching soldier's shoulders and using his momentum to toss him into his buddies beginning to come through the new groundbridge.

Turning to check on the others, he was fairly impressed to see how they had rounded up the three stooges that had been attacking them, tossing one of their explosives into the energon cart beside them and blowing them either to Knockout's medbay or to the Pit itself.

The Cybertronian scout nodded as their gazes met his own and they began running again, their footsteps echoing on the metal ramp as they made their way to the next door. "This has to be the elevator, right?" Batgirl panted.

_"__How'd you get down here?"_

"Vents."

_"__Well, too late to use it now,"_ 'Bee grumbled as they stepped into the elevator, recovering their energy for the next phase. _"Stay behind me, Primus knows what's waiting for us on the next level."_

"Don't you mean up top?" Tim questioned.

Bumblebee shook his head. _"No, we're still too low, and odds are security will be tighter. We'll need to handle security system hubs they have set up in this place if we wanna get out."_

"Awesome," Batgirl nodded.

The elevator stopped with a hiss, the doors opening to reveal another long hall with a door at the end. They ran down the hall, raising their weapons as the door opened, revealing an empty room with three doors. "Which way do we go?" Nightwing questioned.

Bumblebee didn't answer as he rushed ahead through the door on their left. The trio quickly followed him as he burst into another room, rolling between shots more troopers were firing at him. Pulling out a bola, Robin hurled it at the closest man pinning his arms to his side. He broke out mere seconds later, but the distraction was long enough for their terrifying friend to rush over and align his blaster under his chin, firing as he punched up.

Covered in the energon of his enemy 'Bee's mask lowered and he spat out some of his own blood. _"Go through that door, one of the hub's are in there. Destroy it. I'll hold these guys out here!"_ he ordered leaping across and tackling another trooper.

Nightwing followed his friend's instructions, racing past the fighting beings without even reconsidering. Getting into the room, he spotted the hub, pulling out several explosives and hurling them at the pillar. They made impact with a small ting as Robin and Batgirl did them same, red lights blinking on the hub as the devices were armed. With that done, they sprinted out of the room, the door sealing shut behind them before shaking with a bang.

"Where's 'Bee?" Batgirl muttered looking around the room. There were dead 'Cons, but no Autobot waiting for them.

Their answer came in the form of blaster fire.

It sounded muffled, as if it were coming from another room. Without glancing at each other, they ran back to the main room, finding it—to their confusion—empty. However, the sound of blaster fire had gotten louder.

Batgirl sprinted up the ramp towards the larger door, slamming her fist on it when it wouldn't open. "THIS WAY!" Tim called waving as the second door opened in front of him, allowing the loud crashes of fighting to break through.

Racing to the battle, they burst in as Bumblebee was blasted back into a wall, large cracks spreading out in the rock as he crashed. He rolled as he hit the ground, standing up and firing at several soldiers coming in through another bridge. With one falling, 'Bee dropped the blasters and sprinted over, flip-kicking the remaining two back and tossing two small knives at them as soon as he landed in a crouch.

Batgirl pressed her lips together, 'Bee wasn't looking too hot right now. Glowing blue energon dripped down to the ground beside him at a steady rate, and she noticed that he was favoring his right side. He must've been more wounded than he'd been letting on.

She cursed herself, of course he was hurt. Bumblebee was infamous for avoiding the medbay when injured, what made her think he'd tell them that he was severely wounded? It should've been obvious given the fact he'd just fell from _Earth's orbit_ and had been captured by the 'Cons.

And now he'd been clearing most of the way for them, making his own wounds worse.

"I'll help patch him up, you two take out the next hub," Nightwing ordered gabbing 'Bee's shoulder as he was about to protest. "You're losing energon. They can handle the hub…"

Batgirl didn't hear the rest of the conversation as she and Robin raced through the rocky tunnel. Reaching a door at the very end, they dove out of the way as blaster fire rained down on them as soon as they entered. "I've got those two. You get the hub!" she ordered sprinting into the line of sight of the two Vehicons.

They fired at her, and she sprung out of the way, tossing explosives in their direction hoping she'd live long enough to give Tim the time he needed to arm the bombs. Seeing a red flash moving back towards the door, she tossed another batarang at the men to keep their attention on it as she made a break for it hearing the beeping start to get faster.

It stopped just as she reached the door, diving through it as it closed.

That had been too close.

Not bothering to breathe in relief that she lived, Batgirl scrambled to her feet, racing after Robin and regrouping with Nightwing and Bumblebee in the main room. Nodding to each other, they followed Bumblebee through the door, barely stopping themselves from getting cut in half as they slid under a violet laser.

The hall was full of them. Ranging at different heights. Bumblebee demonstrated the way to get through as he rushed ahead, clearly paying no mind to his temporary patches as he rolled under and flipped over the violet beams. Following his lead, they made it into the main hub, where a large battalion stood waiting for them with Bumblebee's vehicle trapped behind a forcefield across the room.

'Bee didn't even stop to assess the situation as he leapt at the closest two soldiers, quickly incapacitating them with his knife as he slashed at both of their throats. Steaming energon spurted onto him, and he shot across the room towards his next target, weaving between sniper shots as he attacked the grounders.

Getting their own bearings quickly, the trio divided and conquered, using bolas and explosives to distract their opponents long enough for the rampaging scout to blast through them. Robin, meanwhile blew up the server.

"What now?" Nightwing questioned.

_"__Now, we go back to the elevator,"_ 'Bee groaned climbing into his car. _"Hop on."_

One very tedious drive later, the group stood as the doors opened to the next level, from which they could finally make out daylight filtering through.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to be on ground-level," Robin sighed taking a step forwards only for a hand to stop him.

_"__You guys hang back,"_ 'Bee said as his vehicle transformed, towering above them. _"I've got a bad feeling that we've got company waiting for us."_

"Oh no, you're injured as it is, we're coming with," Batgirl stated. "You're not talking us out of it."

Cerulean blue eyes flickered between each of them, before their owner nodded tiredly. _"Just hang back out of range. I don't want y'all to get hurt."_

Bumblebee took the lead, walking forwards into the room before stopping dead in his tracks and settling into a crouch. The once subtle roar of an engine steadily grew louder and all three Bats groaned as the familiar red Aston Martin sped in. Bumblebee ran forwards, catching the car with his bare hands, skidding back slightly from the force as it continued to drive forwards in an attempt to run them all over.

With a battle cry, 'Bee managed to pick it up, tossing it across the room when it transformed midair and Knockout landed, looking furious. "WATCH THE PAINT!"

_"__Sorry not my priority."_

Knockout scoffed, "Well then, Lord Megatron wouldn't be pleased if I let you leave so soon."

The large mech began to run for them and the Bats dodged while Bumblebee rolled under him, blasting up and hitting the back of the helm. He growled loudly, swinging his claws at 'Bee, swatting him across the room.

Crashing to the ground, 'Bee spring back to his feet, hand-springing back as a blaster shot nearly hit where he'd once been. Bumblebee grit his teeth, there was no way he could do this. Any other day, sure, but right now, he was losing energon, fast; and his chest was hurting, he must've broken a rib.

The teen's saving grace was when a batarang lodged in KO's faceplate, blowing up and blasting him back as another one hit from a different angle, damaging the arm at least and at least scratching his precious paint job. Taking advantage of his distraction, 'Bee shot forwards, using his new wrist-knife to slice through the hydraulics of the pedes. Knockout shouted as he fell, his arm landing on 'Bee's leg and slamming him to the floor. Pushing the massive limb off, 'Bee straddled Knockout's frame forcing the chest open and leveling his blaster at the 'Con inside.

/Bumblebee, the 'Con's grabbed Wonder Girl! Is everyone with you accounted for?!/

Blue eyes shot around the room. Where was Robin?!

Before he could question his prisoner, the chest compartment slammed shut and the red medic transformed, speeding out of the mine and knocking 'Bee to the ground.

_"__Bumblebee to base, Robin has been captured."_


	6. Use of Force

Chapter 6

**A/N: hey guys, I'm back with the next chapter! So as we all know Wonder Girl and Robin III have been captured by the Decepticreeps! Oh no! **

**But we don't get to see what happens to them…yet. Right now, we get to see Prime's rescue! Yay!**

**Anyways, I just own the story and all that stuff y'all know by now.**

**/comms/**

**_Telepathy_**

**_"'_****_Bee talking."_**

**Amazon Rainforest, January 11 2:30MDT**

"Optimus!"

"Optimus!"

"Optimus!" Ratchet's loud yelled right by his head as the Prime slowly regained consciousness.

"Ratchet…" he groaned taking the medic's hand as he helped him up.

"Whoa," Superboy said as he and Miss Martian stood nearby looking at the massive mech easily ten times the size of any of their own sticking up out of a hunk of dark energon. "He's big."

"Is he the source of all this dark energon?" M'gaan questioned.

"Let's find out," Ratchet replied stepping forwards.

Prime didn't know what, but something was telling him they needed to leave, now. "Get back! He's dangerous!"

Violet optics onlined and the massive claws swiped towards them, smacking Ratchet aside into Miss Martian. **"The Matrix,"** a deep voice rumbled a cannon beginning to charge.

"Miss Martian! Superboy! Ratchet! Get out of here now! He's one of Unicron's followers!" Optimus warned firing his blaster.

A massive fist made impact with the ground, the shockwave knocking Prime and Superboy back. the blaster on his free arm began charging and the pair quickly rolled out of the way. Superboy jumped, slamming his fists into the Cybertronian metal making little more than a dent. Jumping back, he grimaced shaking out his hand to dull the pain spreading through his knuckles. He forgot, Kryptonian strength doesn't react to Cybertronain metal the same way it does to other metals.

Several boulders flew overhead, slamming into the 'Con's massive helm. Conner would have to thank M'gaan for that save later.

Racing forwards to grab some rocks of his own to chunk, Conner yelped as he was lifted up into the air and hurled. Miss Martian grunted as they hit each other, crashing on the ground and sliding towards the cliff's edge rapidly. M'gaan's eyes glowed and they levitated up, and she deposited him on his feet.

Nodding to her, he ran forwards, grabbing a large rock and hurling it at the charging cannon. The blast was thrown off course, allowing Prime to jump and run up their attacker's arm. Leaping off, Prime's swords sliced through the faceplate earning an enraged roar from the Cybertronian piloting it within.

**"****YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!"**

The jaw of the faceplate unhinged and Conner barely tackled M'gaan out of the way as a torrent of violet fire poured out. Pulling her behind a rock, they huddled close together as the flames attempted to wrap around it, the heat singing their hair and clothing.

A loud crash brought the flames to an abrupt halt, and peering around the boulder they could see that Prime had used the distraction to rip the cannon off his arm. The attacker roared, his fist attempting to smash Prime before a blast from above stopped him.

All heads turned up and Conner gulped, even after all these years, the _Nemesis_ was still as imposing as the very first time he saw it. And, on its bow, he could see Megatron smirking down at them. "DECEPTICONS! BEGIN OUR ASSAULT!"

Blaster fire began to rain down and Miss Martian went into camouflage mode, disappearing from their sights. Superboy raced over to Prime, following him as he lead the way to some cover.

/Optimus/ Arcee began /we're on our way/

/Arcee, you're alive/ Ratchet's relieved voice sighed. /Thank Primus/

"Arcee hold your position, we're about to bridge out of here!" Optimus ordered.

/Understood, firing up the groundbridge for extraction/

"Superboy, Miss Martian, hold onto to me," Optimus said getting a quick nod from the half-Kryptonian has he held out a hand. Climbing up, Superboy tightly gripped the metal cables as he crouched on Prime's shoulder, M'gaan probably doing the same on the other side.

The Prime ran out from their cover, leading the way as they wove through the cannon fire. Fortunately, that _thing_ they had been fighting earlier seemed to have most of Megatron's attention cause he could make out the form of Big Bad himself diving down to punch it.

Optimus blasted his way through the few soldiers who tried to fire at him, continuing to lead the way through the maze of ruins. Jumping over a wall, they barely rolled out of the way as a barrage of cannon fire hit between them and the groundbridge causing some of the mountainside to give way.

"You'll have to jump across," Optimus informed and Conner nodded glancing back and sighing internally as he saw Ratchet finally catching up to them.

Sprinting through the ancient street, Superboy leapt, rolling to his feet and racing towards the groundbridge as he felt Prime's distinct thud and a grunt that must've been Ratchet landing unceremoniously.

Running through the bridge, he was greeted by the bone-crushing hug of his brother. Ignoring the undoubted scolding he was getting about galivanting off to fight 'Cons alone with M'gaan and Ratchet without calling for backup, he turned towards the bridge worry beginning to settle in his gut.

Where was Prime? Ratchet? They were literally right behind him.

The base shook as an explosion burst through the bridge, everyone ducking as Prime was blasted back into the wall. Transforming, Optimus fell out of the truck landing on his hands and feet, energon dripping down his chin.

Connor could only stare as what could be described as horror flashed across the Prime's face as the groundbridge closed.

"Ratchet!"

-.-

**Nemesis**

Megatron stood watching warily as his soldiers steadily removed dark energon shards from the vehicle armor of the new arrival. "Knockout?"

"I'm afraid he's incomplete. Once he's all out of the meteorite it'll look like a puzzle with pieces missing."

Rolling his eyes, Megatron leveled a glare at his medic, "Your ability to state the obvious is astounding doctor."

"My apologizes My Lord," the redhead bowed, "some of the missing components may have been embedded in other fragments that split off and fell in other locations."

"I see…"

The sound of metal grinding together broke Megatron from his next line of thought. Turning towards the beast, he watched as the chest compartment opened and a dark energon covered hand slammed on the side. Its owner stood up, emerging from his transport, standing tall despite bearing some massive injuries.

Megatron felt the dark energon in his body thrum and almost immediately violet eyes snapped over, locking on with Megatron's own. Leaping off the restrained mech, the man landed and Megatron set his shoulders back as he stood to his full height. He wasn't used to feeling small, most had to look up just to meet his gaze, but this man, Megatron barely reached his shoulders.

The dark-skinned man strode forwards, the scars across his face making him all the more terrifying to those of weaker metal. But Megatron was not weak, standing his ground, he didn't flinch as the new arrival stopped right in front of him, looking down.

**"****I am Thunderwing, release me immediately,"** he spoke gravelly, pointing to the imprisoned armor.

"I am Megatron, Leader of the Decepticons."

**"****You name and rank mean nothing to me, Little Knight,"** he snarled, violet eyes flashing. **"The Fallen himself has tasked me with a mission to destroy the Matrix. Release me so I may find its host and complete my mission."**

"The Fallen has been defeated," Megatron informed calmly.

**"****WHAT?!"** Thunderwing demanded picking him up his eyes glowing brightly with rage. **"HOW CAN THIS BE?!"**

"The Primes banished him into the pit!"

**"****What of Lady Nyx? Surely his daughter is ready to take her father's mantle!"**

"I am afraid her time has passed," Megatron informed wiping energon off his armor as he was put down, "but fear not, the Dark Prime line still thrives."

**"****As your commanding officer, I demand you take me to see them!"**

"You are in no position to be making demands Thunderwing," Megatron snarled his own eyes flashing violet. "You may be an old General, but I am the new one. And even if I were to comply, the current Dark Prime is…not reachable as of this moment."

The man scowled, **"Then release me so I may destroy the Matrix!"**

"I don't think you understand," Megatron growled stepping closer to the Knight, "even if I were to release you, your ship and your body has taken on too much damage," he motioned to the current pool of dark energon forming under Thunderwing. "However, if you swore your allegiance to me, then I will have you repaired, and even give you an opportunity to destroy the Matrix."

Thunderwing scoffed, **"You? Repair me? You cannot comprehend how long I have existed! The technology to repair my armor and weapons is beyond your grasp!"**

"On the contrary, our current knowledge of the ancients is unparalleled," he replied motioning to the door.

Thunderwing watched as the door opened, raising a brow as an older man in clunky red-orange and white armor was shoved to his knees by an insecticon woman. The sight of her made the Ancient general frown, how much have times must have changed in which the _Beast's_ people were on their side.

"The Autobot, Ratchet," Megatron introduced. "He will restore the full functionality or you and your weapons."

"You're out of your mind Megatron!" this medic snarled. "I'll _never_ cooperate with you!"

The smaller Knight scoffed merely lifting a hand and motioning above. Gaze flickering upwards, the General had to smirk at the sight of young blonde girl and a dark-haired boy in a black cape behind a ray-shield. Seems the newbie already knew how to exploit the weaknesses of others, perfect. It would be one less thing he would need to be taught.

**"****So be it Megatron,"** Thunderwing yielded, **"but know this: once I have eliminated that Matrix, my loyalties will return to the Dark Primes and our Master, Unicron!"**

Megatron said nothing, but gave a small nod and the small red-haired officer stepped in front of him, looking nervous. Finally a being he could drive the fear of Unicron into. "C-Come this way Thunderwing, we'll get you all patched up," he stuttered leading the way to the medbay as Ratchet reluctantly followed.

"Soundwave, begin locating the other fragments," Megatron ordered.

-.-

**"****Tell me medic,"** Thunderwing snarled as the red officer began patching up his side, **"what has become of my masters, the Dark Primes?"**

"The name's Knockout," he snapped, "and currently, I only know of two."

"Two Darks?" Ratchet scoffed. "All the Dark Primes were wiped out during the start of the Golden Age."

Knockout rolled his eyes, "One is rumored to be off in deep space, banished in another dimension or something, Lord Megatron didn't really go into the details; for all I know it was an old legend he found when searching for you. But one is confirmed to be alive, he's actually here on Earth."

**"****Then why did Megatron say he was unreachable?!"** he demanded.

"…It's complicated," Knockout replied pressing his lips together as he continued working.

Thunderwing scowled, tapping the berth impatiently. Why would a fellow Knight of Unicron lie to him? Unless…

He sat up, ignoring the protests of the pests around him. The only reason a brother in arms would lie is if they were planning treason. Megatron was likely planning on trying to take the mantle for himself. It would explain why he so arrogantly demanded his allegiance. He was planning to overthrow their Master.

For now, he would just need to bide his time and regain strength lost over the eons, soon he would destroy the Matrix and this irksome little traitor.


	7. Repairations

Chapter 7

**A/N: alrighty, so we're finally onto the next chapter! Glad to see all've y'all are enjoying this so far, it's been a blast to write. As usual: I just own the story and MY OCs. Emerald Lantern belongs to Sil Vahtura 98 and Mimzy94 owns Moonrider.**

**/comms/**

**_Telepathy_**

**_"_****_Bumblebee talking."_**

**Autobot Base, January 11 10:15MT**

"There's no question about it, we need to rescue them," Wonder Woman stated crossing her arms.

"We will Diana, but we can't rush into this, especially not with the Decepticons and their new…" Superman trailed off, "What was that?"

"That was Thunderwing," Optimus replied wrapping gauze around his son's arm.

"Thunderwing?" Emerald repeated. "I haven't heard of any Decepticons known by that name," she turned to Arcee and Bulkhead, "That name sound familiar to either of you?"

"No one I've ever encountered."

"Doesn't sound familiar to me."

"I wouldn't expect his name to be familiar," Optimus interrupted. "He was one of Megatronus Prime's Knights back in the days of the Original Thirteen. When he fell from grace, his knights did as well. Thunderwing became one of the Fallen's high generals. Leading many of his undead forces against the other Primes."

"Wait, you're saying this guy is from the days of the Original Thirteen Primes?" Bulkhead questioned. "Like he fought, the _Original Thirteen Primes_?"

_"__Yes, he's beyond ancient Bulk!"_

"So what do we know about him?" Batman asked.

'Bee shrugged, _"Other than what Dad said, nothing much. Not much is known about the Fallen Knights…Stories say Unicron gave them powers to assist The Fallen and the other Dark Primes, but there's no telling if those are true."_

"When we were fighting him, he said something about the Matrix," Conner remembered. "Do you think he's working like Unicron did. Tracking down Primes to kill through the energy of the Matrix?"

"That sounds believable," Blue Beetle shrugged. "Yes! I think it does sound believable!"

Bumblebee raised a brow, looking to his father and mumbling something in their mother language, _"Dreh rok lost wah kos het [Does he have to be here]?"_

"Bumblebee, pahro zaak fend kos ni [everyone's ideas should be noted]," Prime scolded.

"As if you have any better ideas! It's not like I was asking for your opinion!"

Optimus sighed, pressing his lips together as Blue Beetle continued to argue…with himself. "To fod mu ofaal Ratchet zek rok uld praag wah mok qtadlurumoder ikeryewoup [Though, when we get Ratchet back he might need to give him a psychological evaluation]."

_"__Goperra [finally]."_

"Well, you said he works for the Dark Primes right?" M'gaan remarked and Prime nodded. "Then what about 'Bee?" All eyes turned to the teen, "He's a Dark Prime after all."

_"__Uh…not a fully realized one, I still need to work on controlling it,"_ he reminded, _"and even if I could control it there's still no telling if he'd listen. I mean, I'm not a pure Dark."_

"'Bee has a point," Erica agreed. "For all we know Thunderwing is fulfilling orders from the Fallen or even Unicron himself, I doubt he'd abandon those orders just on his word."

Nightwing stepped forwards, "If this 'Con is as powerful as we think he is, how do we keep him from becoming stronger?"

"The meteor broke up as it entered Earth's atmosphere, odds are that components of Thunderwings ancient weapons are lodged within," Batman stated.

"So we just need to stop him from getting them," Captain Atom huffed. "Our best bet would be to divide and conquer. Send teams to search for the parts as everyone else tries to locate the Nemesis."

"How will we know what the parts are?" Flash questioned.

Arcee rolled her eyes, "Cybertronian tech covered in dark energon."

"Likely crawling with Megatron's lackeys," Black Canary added.

"I've got the coordinates the other meteorites made impact," Nightwing informed. "The first one landed in the Mojave Desert. Another fragment landed just off the coast of Japan. Third fragment landed Greece. And the final meteorite made impact in Mongolia."

"Alright then," Captain Atom began, "now that we have the locations we should decide who will hunt down the meteorites, who searches for the Nemesis, and who returns to normal duty to keep the bad guys off our trail."

"La'gaan and I can handle the meteorite off the Coast of Japan," Aquaman volunteered.

"Yes!" he protégé cheered.

"I'll come with," Arcee spoke walking over. "We don't know how long you can last against dark energon, and you'll need back up should the 'Cons show up."

"Garth and I can help," Miss Martian added flying over.

"…Fine," Arcee agreed. "Better to have strong teams."

"I'll take Mongolia," Bulkhead volunteered, "Superboy? You up for a road trip?"

Conner grinned, "How hard can this be with Wreckers handling it?"

"That's the spirit!" Bulkhead grinned high-fiving him.

"Bulkhead, take Blue Beetle, and Wasp."

"I'll come as well," Flash volunteered.

Prime nodded and turned to Bumblebee, "Are you willing to take the Mojave Desert?"

The teen nodded and Emerald leaned on his shoulder, "And Nightwing, Batgirl, and I got his back."

"Superman, Wonder Woman and I will accompany you," Captain Atom said nodding to Prime. "Make sure to keep comms open and contact the others when you find something."

-.-

**Mojave Desert, 14:34PT**

/Arcee, Bumblebee, have your teams reached their destinations?/ Prime questioned.

/We're almost there/ Arcee replied.

_"__Just zeroed in on the signal source, moving in now,"_ 'Bee replied

"Once we decode these signals and check the crash site we can rescue our friends," Batgirl added.

/Be on guard/ Batman replied /odds are the Decepticons are already on the move as well/

"Any luck on your end?" Erica asked.

/Bulkhead has yet to report. But the Decepticons seem to be searching for something buried in the ground, likely something related to Thunderwing/

_"__Don't worry about us, we've got things covered here,"_ Bumblebee spoke up activating his blasters, _"Good luck Dad."_

/To you as well Bumblebee/

The comm-channel closed and the small group crouched behind a series of rocks, watching the small group of Vehicon troopers patrolling the path up ahead. "Anyone got a plan?" Batgirl whispered.

Nightwing shrugged, "Not a good one."

"'Bee?"

_"__Mine probably isn't better than Nightwing's."_

"Well, I'll take anything at this point," Emerald sighed, "What'cha got?" To answer her question, Bumblebee rolled out from behind his boulder and began shooting the 'Cons on the ridge. She nodded and smirked. "I like it."

Flying out from behind her cover, Emerald punched forwards, a fist-shaped construct knocking the men flat on their backs. Making opportunity of their predicament, Bumblebee shot forwards, quickly slicing his way through the soldiers as Nightwing and Batgirl followed suit. The two protégés of the Dark Knight readied their weapons, hurling them at the 'Con ready to hit 'Bee's unprotected back as their teammate tangled with one of the soldiers. They exploded on impact, blasting the trooper across the path and into his partner 'Bee was fighting, sending them both tumbling over the ledge.

_"__Nice,"_ 'Bee nodded to them. Hearing the sound of something being cut through, they crouched down and snuck forwards. Peering down into the valley below, the group couldn't help but groan as they spotted a familiar bright red paintjob matching the hair of its owner.

Doc Knock was currently using his Buzzsaw to cut through the massive dark energon crystal, trying to reach the fragment no doubt trapped inside. The crystal soon split apart revealing what had to be part of a cannon.

"Let's get him!" Emerald exclaimed flying out and slamming a fly swatter down on where the red medic had been.

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU PEOPLE?! WATCH THE FRAGGING PAINT!" he screamed.

"Some of us aren't as concerned with our appearance as you are Doc Knock!" Nightwing called as he and Batgirl jumped down with Bumblebee all three of them raising their weapons.

"We all know appearances are lies, he's just as ugly on the inside as he is on the out," Batgirl quipped.

If looks could kill, Batgirl would've been dead right there. "You know," Knockout drawled, "I had been planning on just breaking for it, but it seems a lesson needs to be taught. I'll scrap all of you!"

Knockout raced forwards, firing his blaster at them. Rolling out of the way, Batgirl and Nightwing tossed the batarangs at him, grimacing when they exploded midair instead of where they were supposed to. "Forgot about that," Nightwing grumbled as he motioned to Batgirl, while KO was distracted with Emerald and 'Bee, they could get the weapon.

A Buzzsaw came dangerously close to his face, as Bumblebee leaned back as Knockout swung. Rather than choosing to stop, Bumblebee continued to fall back, placing his hands on the ground and swinging his legs up, getting a satisfying crash as KO was kicked back into the air. Emerald flew down, taking advantage of the red medic's lack of defenses and swatted him aside into the cliff.

Meanwhile, Nightwing and Batgirl stopped dead in their tracks, raising their weapons; the Con Without a Face had chosen to make an unscheduled appearance. Nightwing growled, fighting Knockout was one thing, but Soundwave…that was another story all together, even the 'Bots maintained a healthy fear of him.

Not to mention, there was a much bigger problem standing behind the faceless 'Con: his jet, in bipedal mode holding the weapon.

"We can't let him get it!" Batgirl hissed.

Nightwing agreed, it was now or never. The duo raced forwards, the male hero launching Batgirl up into the air. Performing a spin kick, she was about to his Soundwave's face when several coils appeared from his armor, wrapping around her and tossing her up into Emerald, sending both girls crashing to the ground.

"What the…?" Erica trailed off as she spotted the new arrival, "Oh scrap."

Dick grunted as he was sent skidding along the ground. He was so not feeling the aster right now, in fact, the dis was heavy. Getting up, he barreled managed to duck as several shots soared over his head as Bumblebee and Knockout continued their brawl, each one bearing their own sets of wounds.

Bumblebee's fist collided with Knockout's jaw, and Nightwing could swear he felt the shockwave of the superpowered punch that sent the medic flying back towards Soundwave. His hope grew for a moment, Soundwave was currently distracted with Emerald, who seemed to be one of the few non-Cybertronians who could challenge him and escape relatively unscathed, and Knockout's body was currently soaring for him.

That hope ended when a groundbridge opened and Knockout flew inside. Soundwave leapt up into the air, spinning around, his bladed wrists made cracks on Erica's shield, eventually breaking it and slamming her back into the ground.

As he descended, the vehicle transformed and Soundwave flew off. With the weapon.

"Ow," Erica grumbled sitting up. "That could've gone better."

"No kidding," the others groaned.

/Arcee to Base: no activity down here, just dark energon fragments/

/Same here/ Bulkhead informed. /What's everyone else's status?/

"We found one, but we lost it."

-.-

**Greece**

"Finally," Megatron mused staring down at the fragment of machinery emerging from the meteorite, "this is Thunderwing's power core link. With this and the generator cog, Thunderwing's weapons can be restored."

Optimus shared a wary glance with Captain Atom and Superman at Megatron's words, it seemed like they had almost collected everything they needed to get their enemy back to full strength.

"Breakdown's in there with him," Wonder Woman added.

"Diana and I can lead Breakdown away while you and Captain Atom handle Megatron," Superman suggested.

"Are you sure splitting our forces is the wisest idea?" Atom remarked. "For all we know they have back-up waiting nearby."

"I can at least use my Lasso of Truth to determine where Robin and Wonder Girl are on Breakdown," Wonder Woman spoke up, "if we leave them together, odds are they'll try to keep me from using it."

Atom was silent for a moment, contemplating their words before nodding, "Prime?"

Optimus nodded, "You two find a way to get Breakdown away, I will distract Megatron."

"WHERE'S MY PROTÉGÉ!?" Wonder Woman hollered flying out and punching Breakdown out one of the many holes in the ruin's walls.

"Well, that's one way," Clark muttered flying after her.

Optimus and Atom stepped out from behind the debris, leveling glares at Megatron. "Return the children Megatron," Prime spoke.

Megatron scoffed, wrinkling his nose with a sneer, "And give up perfectly good leverage?" his sword flicked out, "Not likely." Charging forwards, the two men's swords clashed violently. "Thunderwing is mine! And with those children as motivation, your lapdog will fully restore the ancient titan." Megatron grinned as he swung up with his spare fist, catching Optimus just under the jaw.

Landing on his back, he rolled back to his feet, kicking Megatron aside as he stabbed his sword where he'd once been lying. Pulling out his blaster, Prime fired as his opponent began to get to his feet, forcing the warlord to dodge or get a very painful energon blast to the head. Leveling his own cannon, Megatron fired, growling as Prime jumped out of the way. With a battle cry he charged forwards, punching his longtime foe in the face. As Prime landed on his back, Megatron jumped on top, trying to stab his sword through his spark.

He forgot that Prime had his own blade, and was soon reminded due to a sharp pain in his gut. The pain had been a surprise, as had been the blast that sent him bouncing along the floor and almost through the wall. Getting to his feet, his narrowed his eyes at the silver and red human pet trying to break through the meteor. Right, those blasted Leaguers had become more formidable opponents over the few years spent on this wretched world.

"Victory will be mine!" he snarled firing at the silvery pest.

"Atom!" Optimus warned and the man flew into the air, narrowly escaping the blasts coming his way as the warlord opened fired.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Prime ran forwards and punched Megatron, knocking his helmet off his head. That hit also sent him flying into the meteor, sending it and Megatron down over the cliff. They would just have to hope that the fall destroyed the power core link.

"Captain Atom to Superman and Wonder Woman, we lost Megatron, where are you?"

/Still in combat, we're in the temple on the cliff/

"Understood, we're on our way," Optimus replied as the duo turned and jumped through the exit their teammates used to leave earlier. "Captain Atom, you go assist them, I will rendezvous with you there."

"Sounds like a plan Prime," the man nodded flying off quickly to provide an assist leaving Optimus to make the ground trek on his own.

And judging from the sound of the groundbridge behind him, Prime told Atom to leave at the right time. Sidestepping his incoming attacker, Prime observed warily: Vehicon trooper, wearing thick armor with large packs on his back, an energy shield. If he worked quickly then this battle shouldn't take too long.

Not giving his opponent time to figure out where exactly he was, Prime charged forwards blasting his gun and knocking him back. Continuing his charge, he pulled out his sword, swinging it down and stabbing him before letting his attacker drop.

Switching on his blaster again, Prime fired at the men on the ridge as he ran towards them, hoping to eliminate them before close quarters combat would be necessary. Unfortunately, several survived.

Getting into the ruins, he rolled out of the way as a sniper fired at him. Standing up, he raised his fists as he saw two more energy shields, these ones active. He'd need to avoid those until they deactivated. Making a strategic retreat, Optimus jumped, hefting himself up onto the next level.

Several energon blasts hit his back, and while they wouldn't incapacitate him he would most certainly be feeling those tomorrow. Firing at the sniper, he ran at him, using pillars to hide from the incoming blasts. Getting close enough, Prime grabbed him by the arm and hurled him down onto one of his allies, a sizable crater forming at the impact. Jumping down, he landed on them and jumped off punching the second energy-shield user before his shield activated again. Not holding back, Optimus delivered several punches till he sent his opponent flying into the wall.

Jumping up onto the level above again, he looked around for a way to reach the roof. It didn't take long before he found a sizable hole in the ceiling. Leaping through, Prime raced towards the bridge that would lead to the temple.

He didn't even stop to consider the cracks on the ground. That was proven to be a mistake when the bridge rumbled and gave way under him.

Landing on his feet, Prime caught one of the massive debris as it prepared to land on him. Holding it over him till the rumbling stopped, Optimus tossed it off, before gazing at his surroundings, there was no way to climb the cliffs, and those pillars would definitely not support him again. Leaving, he sighed, the way ahead.

/Prime! I heard something collapse!/ Superman called before grunting as something hit him.

"I'm fine, there's been a slight delay," he replied. "How are all of you handling Breakdown?"

/We're a little battered and bruised, but we've got him so far/ Clark replied, /Keeping his focus on me while Diana and Atom ambush him seems to be doing the trick/

"Good, I have faith that you three will be more than enough to subdue him," Optimus reassured.

/Then why meet us?/ Wonder Woman questioned.

Captain Atom was the one who spoke up, /If Megatron reappears anywhere, it will be where the most fighting is/

Optimus nodded, remaining silent as he ran forwards, jumping over the next bridge he found and throwing the two men on the other side over the ledge. He continued on his run, leaping over the next bridge and rolling right into an enemy on the other side, and knocking him over like a bowling pin.

That moment reminded Prime of something Bumblebee referred to as "memes": Be the ball or something like that.

It also became a moment he vowed never to tell his family because the puns would never end.

Unfurling himself, Optimus grabbed the downed 'Con and hurled him into the sniper and sending them over the cliff. "Maybe there was something to that 'Be the ball' thing," he muttered. Turning to face his next opponents he glanced at the fallen column to his left. The archeologists wouldn't miss _one_ piece right?

He hoped so.

Picking up part of the column, he hurled it down, slamming it on the troopers. The rock crumbled to rubble as they got up, but, at least now they were at least disoriented. Pulling out his swords, he swung it across them, grimacing as energon spattered across the dirt and his armor.

Prime hurdled over them, sprinting across the natural bridge and into the abandoned mine. Looking up, he sighed as he saw the grueling climb ahead. This was one of those moments he wished he could fly.

But there was no time to dwell on that now. Burying his hands into cracks in the rock, Prime began to climb up.

He made it half way when a familiar engine made itself known. Looking up, blue eyes narrowed as Megatron flew down, his vehicle stopping to hover beside him as its driver climbed out to stand on top. Spitting out a glob of energon as Megatron glared down at Optimus with a sinister smile. "What a pity," he grinned and Prime could see the cannon activate.

That was all the warning he had before the cave collapsed around him.

/Prime, we heard something? What's going on?/

/Prime?/

/Optimus!/


	8. We Fragged Up

Chapter 8

**A/N: I'm back! Did y'all miss me?! Anyways, I just own the story and some of the OCs, the other OCs belong to Sil Vatura98 and Mimzy94.**

**/comms/**

**_Telepathy/flashbacks_**

**_ "_****_Bumblebee/Soundwave talking."_**

**Nemesis, January 11, 15:05EST**

Ratchet sat cuffed the wall of his prison currently in the repair chamber. He had to figure out how to get out of here, or at the very least get Cassie and Tim out before Megatron or…that monster did something to them. But how?

The swish of the opening door interrupted his thoughts, looking up, he scowled as he was greeted by Megatron entering the room carrying the power core link. "Alright mechanic, it's time you made yourself useful," Megatron snarled tapping a button and releasing the cuffs.

/Lord Megatron, Breakdown has returned!/

A screen in the room activated and Ratchet watched as the ex-Wrecker stumbled through, followed by Superman and Wonder Woman whom had the lasso tied around his arms.

Primus could not have given him a better opportunity. Racing out the door, Ratchet closed it behind him, smirking to himself as he heard Megatron thud painfully into it. Shaking his head, the medic refocused himself; that door would not hold Megatron back for long.

A loud bang echoed from the hall behind him and Ratchet didn't even need to turn in order to determine that Lord Buckethead had escaped.

"CAPTURE THE INTRUDERS!" Megatron's enraged voice rang out and the security systems activated.

"Superman! Wonder Woman! Do you read?!" Ratchet called tapping on his comms and nearly running into a laser as a high-pitch whine nearly deafened him. "This blasted ship is jamming the comms. At least I can get the kids."

Narrowly avoiding a few more lasers as he ran, he burst into the hangar, startling the men on duty.

"HOW'D HE GET HERE?!"

Two souls rushed forwards first, and Ratchet looked around, he needed to be creative. Ducking under the sloppy punch of one, he grabbed his arm and slammed it against the other guy's chest, roughly welding them together.

It probably wouldn't last long, but it would at least buy him time to deal with the others. Using his welded targets as a shield, they died quickly of their comrade's blasts allowing him to charge up his own cannons. Breaking his now dead cover, Ratchet fired at the remaining guards. One went down quickly, but the other one was far more stubborn. Two metal-covered fists hit him in the chest, knocking him back on the ground. The large soldier jumped onto him, and the medic had never been so glad to be part of a race for which breathing wasn't a necessity until now.

On the bright side, he still had his torch out. Lighting it up, he jammed it right under the 'Con's helmet, grimacing as the man screamed before passing out from pain.

Shoving the trooper off him, Ratchet scanned the room. This was the place he saw Cassie and Tim. It had to be. Where else would they be—

"RATCHET!" Wonder Girl screamed and he looked up spotting the duo behind a ray shield.

"Hold on! I'm on my way!"

"Good, because I can't hack my way out of here," Robin called.

Ratchet sprinted out of the room, running in the direction he believed went to where they were being held. Entering a room, he would be lying if he said he didn't cry out as several blasts hit him. Landing on his back, Ratchet yelped as he saw a soldier moving to jump on him again. Rolling out of the way, he stabbed the man with his knife before turning to face the other two. Picking one, he ran right at him, swinging his blade down, only to get punched when he missed. Getting up, he barreled into the closest one, using his blades again before firing his blasters at the remaining 'Con.

When he fell, he ran through the door, not bothering to glance at Thunderwing's weapon. Slamming his hand on the button, he jumped across, more focused on not falling than the children's encouraging cheers.

Thankfully making it across, he ran up the hall and opened the door to their cell. He expected them to thank him, but he didn't expect for the pair to hug him. "Thank's Doc!"

"Oh! I'm so glad you're alive!"

"Umm," Ratchet cleared his throat, gently pushing them off of him, "we can do the soft human stuff later, right now we need to get off this ship. Follow me, the elevator's this way!"

The two teens quickly accompanied him as he opened the elevator, allowing all three of them to get on as the doors closed behind them and the ramp began moving.

"Doc!" Wonder Girl exclaimed holding up her phone, "Check this out. I was bored so while we were there I took a ton of pictures of that Giant and his weapon-thing!"

"Ratchet," Robin spoke up, "I know they forced you to work on it, but…but did you really repair it?"

"Of course I did, and brilliantly I might add."

"What?! Doc!"

"Ep! Ep! I doubt your mentors would have been so forgiving if I let you two die," he hushed them. "Fortunately, I did manage to find a serious design flaw in his weapons when I was working on it."

"Really?"

"Yes I did, and I need to tell everyone about it! This elevator should take us to the central computer room," Ratchet informed before stumbling as the lift ground to a sudden stop. "WHAT?!"

A groundbridge opened up and several men stepped out, raising their weapons and charging.

Wonder Girl retaliated first, grabbing her lasso, she wrapped it around one of the soldier and swung. Her unfortunate victim slammed into one of his comrades with a pained grunt, knocking both over the edge of the lift. Below her, Robin and Ratchet ran towards their opponents. The Boy Wonder flipped tossing several batarangs, exploding as they made impact to the startled men's armor. Using their distraction against them, Ratchet rammed into them, swinging his blade and cutting them down quickly.

Robin jogged over to the controls and began typing, grateful that Nightwing insisted he learned the basics of Cybertronian coding. A loud hiss came from below and the lift jerked as it restarted again. that was when he noticed a problem. "Ratchet! They're trying to cut the lift's power supply!"

"They won't be able to do that without taking out the power cells," Ratchet replied pointing to the large cylindrical tanks on either side of the platform.

"Robin and I got the right one covered! You get the left!" Cassie exclaimed.

Tim closed his monitor and prayed that he wasn't going to die today. Joining his teammate, he raised his weapons as the groundbridge opened, releasing a small squadron. Red-tinted visors met their gaze and the Robin hurled his weapons as they moved towards them.

The leader ducked out of the way, letting his comrade take the brunt of the explosive and electric blasts in his stead. Wonder Girl charged forwards and punched him, sending him flying back towards Ratchet, but leaving the girl shaking her hand yelping "Ow" repeatedly.

On the other side of the platform there was a loud yell and Ratchet nearly crushed them as he slammed down on the lift. Getting up, the medic wiped energon from his lip and looked at Wonder Girl. "How hard can you throw me?"

"Let's find out!" she grinned landing on the ground.

Ratchet charged forwards and Cassie vaulted the old medic into the air. And thus, Robin's fear of Ratchet the Hatchet became forever solidified as he crashed down on the men, using his momentum to _headbutt_ them off the lift.

"Guys! I can see the end of the lift!"

"Thank God."

"We can get out from here right?"

Ratchet nodded, "I think so. There should be an exit from the main computer room."

Seeing the medic frown, Tim couldn't help but share a glance with Wonder Girl. "What's wrong?"

"Something isn't right," Ratchet answered as the elevator came to a stop and they got off. "All these 'Cons knowing exactly where we are," he stomped down the hall right towards a door, "Someone's been monitoring us. And I think I know who."

The door opened and Robin and Wonder Girl nervously raised their weapons at the sight of the tall, dark figure standing at the main control console.

"Soundwave."

At his name, the 'Con without a face looked up at them and his visor flashed. A transparent shield erected itself around him and he raised a hand flipping the bird at them before looking down and typing again.

"Robin, hack into the system and try to deactivate those shields," Ratchet ordered as the teen darted for cover. "Wonder Girl, you're with me."

"Yes!" she cheered.

/I've got it/ Robin said as he continued typing, /those generators around the room; that's what's powering the shield/

Groundbridges opened and several men ran out. Ratchet raised his blasters, firing at them. The men in front of him went down, but he jumped when a crash came from behind; turning, he was pleased to see that Wonder Girl had made herself useful, standing victoriously on top of the likely unconscious men.

/I got the shield of one of the generators down! Get it while you can!/

Gazing frantically around the room, blue-grey eyes locked on the target. Firing his blaster Ratchet ran for it, hoping the closer he got the more damage he'd do. Above him Wonder Girl soared over, her fists impacting the metal with a loud clang, a decent sized dent forming. Flying back, she rammed it again as Ratchet got close enough for his shots to do real damage. As his last blast made impact, the generator sparked for a moment and smoke began puffing out of the vents before they heard the distinct sound of systems crashing.

Unfortunately, Soundwave just waved from inside his still active shield.

A battle cry alerted the fighters that their enemies' back-up had arrived. The good news was, that back-up consisted of two men.

/Generator shield down/

Ratchet nodded to Wonder Girl and she shot off to handle the device. He could take these two easy. The medic would admit, using the 'Cons as punching bags made for great anger management. There was a slight appeal in being able to knock a guy's lights out with just a few hits. Slamming his fist into the men again, he grinned as they crashing into the wall, slumping over on the ground just as the second generator rumbled.

Seems Wonder Girl would fit right in with the Wreckers. It also meant that while he handled the reinforcements that would no doubt keep flowing in, the protégé could eliminate the targets. Perfect!

Blaster fire pulled him out of his thoughts, and the medic ducked behind one of the many crates in the room cursing himself. Like he always told 'Bee, the battlefield was no place to get distracted. Footsteps came his way and Ratchet waited for the man to start turning around the corner when Ratchet slammed into him, the headbutt sending the man stumbling back. Pulling out is scalpels again, Ratchet quickly severed the main energon lines, before rolling out of the way of more blaster fire. Switching the blades for guns, he fired at the two men standing by Soundwave's shield grimacing when their shots hit him. one explosive charge landed at his feet, knocking the red and white medic back.

Getting to his feet, Ratchet had barely enough time to process what was happening before a fist impacted his face, sending him slamming into the generator Wonder Girl was currently trying to break. Behind him he heard the machine sputter and the girl say thanks before flying to the next one.

At least some good fortune came out of his new wounds.

Racing towards his opponent, Ratchet managed to sidestep a punch and got revenge with a blade piercing the 'Con's armor. Dropping the wounded man, Ratchet watched as the shield around Soundwave finally vanished, leaving the 'Con looking around wondering where it went.

"The shield's down!" Robin said behind him, nearly giving the old medic a spark attack. "Now we can get him!"

A ground bridge opened below him and Soundwave fell through.

"Uh…Where'd he—GAH!" Wonder Girl cried out as Soundwave leapt out of the bridge now to her right. He grabbed her lasso, using it to fling her down onto Robin hard enough for a small cloud of dirt to rise up. The lanky man landed in a crouch, and before Ratchet knew it, he was on him.

Soundwave's wrist blades cut through the front of his armor as the man spun. Ratchet stumbled back from the blows, not even having time to raise his arms as a boot crashed into his jaw, sending him soaring through the air and into the wall.

Ratchet got up, raising his blasters and ready to fire when the tall man vanished through another bridge. Panting he gazed warily around the room trying to pinpoint exactly where the Communications Officer would appear next. He hadn't been expecting the bridge to open right behind him.

Coils wrapped around his body and Ratchet registered the familiar blue glow of the groundbridge around him before he was hurled out the other side. Falling into open air, he gave a cry of pain as his ribs collided with the corner of one of the crates before he fell to the ground.

The bridge that dropped him closed and Ratchet had just gotten to his feet when the next one opened. Soundwave charged out, his fist slamming into Ratchet's injured side and the medic could feel multiple ribs break under the ex-gladiator's fist. Stumbling back, Ratchet managed to focus long enough to see the red orbs of one of the officer's infamous sonic attacks. The wave of sound rattled through him and Ratchet went skidding along the metal floors.

He panted, there was no way, absolutely no way he was going to beat Soundwave. The man had stood on the same combat level as Megatron and Moonrider for vorns. Pit, Solarflare even admitted that he gave her a run for her credits when she ruled the arena with an iron fist.

Blinking up, he could make out the form of the imposing man standing above him, as stoic and silent as always. He failed, Ratchet failed. He failed to escape with the intel, and even more so, he failed to get the kids out.

He could just hope they used the fight as a chance to escape.

A lasso wrapping around the Communications Officer's waist and yanking him out of view spoke otherwise. Despite the pain, Ratchet sat up fast enough to watch as he crashed into the wall, Wonder Girl and Robin standing proudly a few meters away.

"TAKE THAT CREEPFACE!" Cassie taunted pulling her rope back.

The lights in the room flickered as Soundwave slowly stood up, his head lowered. Flickering again, the tall man vanished.

That was the moment they knew they fragged up.

Soundwave reappeared behind them, his sonic attack sending them flying back into the wall. Robin hurled several of his weapons at their attacker, gulping when they lodged in the armor, but failed to explode. Instead, Soundwave merely plucked them out and hurled them back, the explosions sending the trio sliding across the floor.

The faceless 'Con strode towards them with leisurely steps, almost appearing bored as he stopped above Ratchet. A hand wrapped around his wrist and Ratchet could only pray he'd be unconscious soon.

He was swung over the ex-gladiator's head, grunting as his stomach and face hit the ground. With barely enough time to gasp, he flew again and was on his back grateful that breathing wasn't necessary for his race otherwise the wind would've been knocked out of him. Ratchet cried out in pain as he was slammed over and down again, his shoulder feeling like it was about to be ripped out of its socket. Soundwave hurled him over again, this time letting go and Ratchet flew through the air, barely registering the groundbridge opening above him. Soundwave crashed down onto his stomach, slamming them into the ground.

A boot kept a steady pressure on his chest. Ratchet looked up at that masked face of the Decepticon, wondering what he was thinking. Soundwave merely tilted his head, like he heard something, the lights flickered again. When they came back on, Soundwave had vanished.

"Where—" Robin stopped coughing and holding his side, "Where'd he go?"

Ratchet groaned as he got up, holding his dislocated shoulder, "I…I don't know."

"Will he be back?" Wonder Girl whispered, wincing as she touched a large gash on her forehead.

"Let's hope not," Ratchet muttered limping over to the communications console. "We should be able to contact the others from here, especially since Superman and Wonder Woman are on board."

"Awesome."

"I'll get started on the jammers," Robin coughed.

-.-

Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee jumped through the groundbridge, their younger comrades following behind them as they made sure the coast was clear. "We're on the Nemesis," Arcee said tapping her comms. Before frowning. "Superman? Wonder Woman? Do you read?"

_"__Signal's jammed,"_ 'Bee grumbled.

"Then we need to split up and search," Aquaman said and they nodded.

"Aquaman, Flash, Batgirl, you three are with me," Bulkhead said leading the way.

_"__Emerald, Superboy, Nightwing, and I got this way,"_ 'Bee nodded taking his friends with him.

Arcee looked at Miss Martian and Wasp, "Let's go." Running down the hall, she could see the shrunken form of Wasp to her left and the slight distortion of M'gaan's camouflage to her upper right. Moving through the halls, they could hear the blast fire of the others likely as they engaged the enemy. Going to assist them, the followed the sounds.

Only, when they arrived on the deck of the ship, the saw Arachnid waiting. "Arcee, how nice of you to come see me," the woman mused as she tapped a button on her wrist, the sounds of fighting stopping as she did so.

"Where are the kids?!" Arcee demanded powering up her blaster.

Arachnid merely grinned, her hair blowing wildly in the wind. "I don't know," she mulled tapping her chin, "What did I do with them?" She smiled, "I know, maybe they're already…" tauntingly, she slid a claw along her own throat, grinning madly as she saw the rage in Arcee's eyes.

"I'LL TEAR YOU APART!" she screamed lifting her blaster and firing.

Arachnid laughed, racing forwards and blocking Arcee's punch. "I guess I'll just have to focus all my attention on you!" She spun around, her extra legs swatting Arcee to the side. Firing her webs, her grin grew as the other woman got pinned beneath, struggling desperately to escape. "I'LL FINALLY GET TO WATCH YOUR SPARK GO OUT WITH MY OWN EYES! AND WITH YOU DEAD, YOU PRECIOUS PETS WILL MAKE VALUABLE ADDITIONS TO MY COLLECTION!"

Arcee smirked, "Not today."

Arachnid's mad smile flickered for a moment, quickly turning into rage. With a battle cry she jumped at her, only, she didn't hit the ground.

Arachnid flailed as she levitated in the air, before the unseen force hurled her into one of the Nemesis' spikes. Standing on the wall, the woman snarled as the Martian appeared and another girl with wings materialized. "Can't fight me alone Arcee? I always knew you were weak!"

The webs were ripped off and Arcee smirked. "Sounds like someone doesn't have any friends. But then again, who could blame them? I don't anyone could like your ugly mug."

Arachnid roared and jumped off the spike, slamming into the deck, a shockwave forming from her impact. Sprinting forwards, Arachnid wildly swung at Arcee, her violet eyes glowing with rage. The Insecticon woman completely forgot about her arch nemesis' little pets.

The force of telekinesis ripped her away from Arcee, slamming her into the ground. Glaring up at the Martian, Arachnid fired her webs at her. They stopped in the air, flying back and hitting their creator instead, gluing her to the ground. As Arachnid began to try to rip them off, she screamed as electricity arched over her body. Slumping down, the last thing she remembered that day was Arcee's boot colliding with her head.

-.-

Bumblebee and his friends raced through the halls of the Nemesis. Turning a corner, they skid to a stop spotting an infuriatingly familiar red form at the other end. "You know Bumblebee," Knockout mulled looking at the tips of his claws lazily, "I'm better at destroying things than repairing them. But once this fiasco is over I'm going to have to clean up this mess."

_"__You again?"_

"Don't sound so disappointed," Knockout scoffed. "I for one have been looking forwards to finishing our little spat from earlier, aren't you?" He pulled out his buzzsaw, charging forwards.

Doc Knock didn't get very far before a green hammer slammed him into the wall. "What're we? Chopped liver?" Emerald huffed as the medic fell to his knees.

"What are you—GAH!" Knockout was cut off as Superboy's fist hit him. Flying into Bumblebee, the teen spun him around and flung him up, where Emerald used a construct to bat him down the hall, sending him sliding along the floor and scuffing his paint.

Getting up, Knockout's ruby-colored eyes widened as his freshly repaired paint job was ruined. It was a split second later he registered the two beeping devices on his chest before they blew up, slamming him into the roof of the hall and letting gravity carry him down into Bumblebee's waiting fist.

Knockout grunted as he was punched again, this time from the back as the infuriating little clone attacked him. Landing on the ground, he growled, wiping energon from his cheek. Footsteps were rushing at him from behind and he whirled around moving to saw whichever little bugger it was in two. Bumblebee jumped over, vaulting off his head, and Knockout grunted as several burning blasts hit his back.

He turned to fire at the group when Nightwing threw down a smoke bomb.

Knockout raised his blasters, looking around. This was so not how he planned for this to go; he just wanted to beat that little scraplet, regain his dignity, and maybe kill the insufferable teen. Instead, he was getting his butt whooped, again.

Hearing running, he fired in that direction.

"MISSED ME!" a taunting voice called and he fired in that direction.

"NOPE! TRY AGAIN!"

Knockout growled and just started spinning firing wildly into the smoke. They had to be blind too, there was no way they could avoid his shots forever. Turning around, red eyes had just enough time to widen as Bumblebee's violet eyes appeared through the smoke.

-.-

"Wonder Woman! Superman!"

The duo turned from where they were holding Breakdown, and sighed, spotting the familiar forms of their allies coming to join them. Flash skid to a stop, waving at Bulkhead, Aquaman, and Batgirl as they caught up.

"Breakdown," Bulkhead growled.

"Bulkhead," the traitor hissed before grunting as Diana's rope tightened around him.

"Where are they?"

"Not much further," Breakdown huffed leading them to a door. Opening it, he walked in to a large room with them in tow. He made his escape when the door slammed behind them. "You just had to make it easy," he smirked waving as several soldiers entered the room, filing out on either side of him.

"Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and I got the left," Flash said.

"Aquaman and I got the right."

"I've got Breakdown."

Grabbing the free end of Diana's lasso, Flash began weaving between the soldiers, wrapping them up. stopping at the last one, he gave a mock salute before speeding off as Wonder Woman pulled. The group of men, yelped as they were thrusted into the air, hitting the roof before slamming back on the ground. Mildly disoriented, they missed Batgirl racing by, dropping explosives in their wake.

Each of them were having a blast a few moments later.

The smoldering troopers flew into the air, landing painfully around the room. Wonder Woman hefted one on her shoulders, hurling him at one of the others about to tackle Aquaman from the back as he knocked the lights out of another. Above him, Superman shot by, swinging around one of them like a baseball bat.

In the center of the room, Bulkhead and Breakdown clashed violently as usual. Their hammers impacting each other shook the room as they attempted to beat the other back. using his free hand, Breakdown uppercut Bulkhead's chin, grinning as his old nemesis went flying back onto Superman.

"Breakdown!" Superman called. "LOB!" With that, the Man of Steel threw Bulkhead like a lobbing ball, the Wrecker laughing as he barreled into Breakdown landing on him in a belly flop.

"Nice Lob!" the Wrecker called rolling off.

"My turn!" Batgirl smirked flipping over and tossing down a few explosives, vaulting away, they watched Breakdown get blasted out the door.

Getting to his feet, the ex-Wrecker looked back towards the door. Running in the opposite direction, he debated on what to do. He doubted he could handle all of them on his own. Bulkhead was a formidable opponent, the Kryptonian was having a bad day if they managed to break a bone of his, the Amazon and Bat were too smart, and the speedster was too fast for him to handle. Heading for the closest door, he stopped in his tracks as he saw Thunderwing working on his mech, attaching the final pieces as Megatron observed from the side.

"Breakdown," Megatron snarled storming towards him. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

**"****You shouldn't be concerned with that now,**" Thunderwing rumbled and Breakdown felt a chill run up his spine. Why did it feel like things were about to get way, way worse?

"Are you finished?"

**"****Completely,"** Thunderwing said landing in front of them. **"Now I can complete my mission."**

Megatron bristled his eyes turning violet. "You owe your life to me! I am your new master!"

Thunderwing's violet eyes glew brighter and Breakdown began backing up. This was going to end badly.

**"****_My Master_****?! I am a Knight of Unicron! The General of the Fallen! The Dark Primes are my masters! YOU MEAN NOTHING TO ME!"** A violet orb materialized in his hand, and he thrust his hand into Megatron's chest. The Leader of the Decepticons was blasted back. Landing in a crouch, Megatron pulled his sword out and charged.

Thunderwing slammed his fists on the ground and the shockwave threw him and Breakdown back again across the room. Shaking his head, Breakdown watched as the man climbed back into his weapon. **"CONSIDER THAT AS MY SHOW OF GRATITUDE!"**

The chestplate closed and Thunderwing ripped through the hull, blasting off.


	9. Clash of Titans

Chapter 9

**A/N: hey guys! I'm back. Happy to be writing, I've some slag going on that's been a real pain. But hey, this gets my mind off that. Also, I wanna wish Emerald Lantern's owner Sil Vathura 98 a very happy birthday! :)**

**Anyways, I just own the story and an OC or two, nothing else is mine otherwise.**

**/comms/**

**_Telepathy/flashback_**

**_"Bumblebee talking. "_**

**Autobot Base, January 11, 16:26MDT**

"Captain Atom? Optimus? Do you read?" Ratchet called typing on the monitor. Not getting an answer the medic grit his teeth. "Something's blocking their signal."

"So, if Prime's out of contact, what are we going to do about that?" Superman said pointing to the signal currently flying across the Pacific Ocean towards Siberia.

"Who knows, this guy fought the Original Primes," Bulkhead murmured, "he has to be insanely powerful."

_"Our biggest concern should be his destination,"_ Bumblebee pointed out. _"If he ends up in a populated area, I don't even want to imagine the number of casualties. We'd be talking millions."_

"So we'll have to lure him to a desolate place," Batman agreed, "and deal with him there."

"So what's the plan?"

Ratchet turned to face them all, "When Megatron forced me to work on that monstrosity's weapons, I managed to find a major flaw. Thunderwing's weapons, armor, even spark, are entirely composed of dark energon. I can build a device that can dampen his internal power and weaken him. Bumblebee, you'll have to tap into your…abilities. If you are using them even for a few minutes, I have no doubt that he'll sense it, and come looking for you."

"So, now that we have that, where exactly are we going to take him?" Emerald questioned.

-.-

**Iceland, 22:33UCT**

Bumblebee lied on the roof of his car waiting as everyone else stood nearby. It had been almost an hour since he called Thunderwing, and so far, there'd been no sign of the titan. What if he'd been right earlier? What if Thunderwing didn't listen to him because he wasn't a pure Dark Prime?

A small thrum in his chest made the teen stand right up. Looking around, Bumblebee had just enough time to jump as blast fire reigned down on him and the others. The sound of a transformation echoed and the ground shook as Megatron landed, towering above them.

_"Yeah, sure Bumblebee, use your Dark Prime side! What could possibly go wrong?! Uh, I dunno, how about calling the wrong one?!"_ he grumbled to himself.

"Ok, 'Bee we get it, bad plan!" Emerald reluctantly agreed raising her fists.

"The Justice League," Megatron sneered as his red gaze flickered between all of them, "and your little sidekicks. I'll admit, you aren't the ones I expected to find here, but who am I to turn away an opportunity. I came here to kill an enemy, and I got one." Raising his cannon, the Lanterns raised a shield together, gritting their teeth as cracks started to form with each blast. Apparently, it was not breaking fast enough for Megatron. With a loud battle cry, he charged forwards, pulling out his sword and slicing through the shield narrowly missing Hal and Guy.

Superman flew forwards, ramming Megatron's torso and causing the titanic mech to fall back. Moving into a somersault as he fell, the Lord of the Decepticons grabbed Superman and began squeezing. "Your skin may be invulnerable Kryptonian, but not even you can avoid being crushed like the worm you are."

Superboy growled and leapt at Megatron, punching the sadist in the faceplate and sending him stumbling back. Meanwhile, Bulkhead and Arcee forced Megatron's hand open, helping Clark out. Seeing his brother was free, Conner jumped back, raising his fists ready to fight the ticked off warlord.

"BUCKET HEAD!" Emerald screamed and Megatron turned, effectively getting bulldozed buy…Conner wasn't sure what it was but it looked like a cross between a lizard and a bug.

Cannon fire erupted from the ground and Emerald just barely put up a shield before the blasts hit her, slamming her into a large rock formation. From up above, Hawkman and Hawkwoman dove down, brandishing their maces. Megatron's hand shot out, grabbing Hawkman and tossed him into the Lanterns. Hawkwoman's mace slammed on the helmet, the sound of metal colliding echoing over the battlefield.

However, she barely made a dent.

"A good effort," Megatron grinned, slashing up and cutting the surprised woman's wing as she flew up. "But not good enough."

Flash ran out from his hiding spot, scooping Hawkwoman out of danger as Megatron swung down and a groundbridge opened behind the fearsome warlord. It as then a red and blue semi sped out and barreled Megatron over. The truck transformed and Optimus stood up.

_"You're alive!"_

"Sorry we couldn't get here sooner," Captain Atom apologized.

"Evacuate the wounded, I will handle Megatron," Optimus ordered.

"Optimus," Megatron growled standing up, "you're more persistent than rust."

"I will never stop till you are defeated Megatron."

"Empty words Prime," Megatron snarled firing his cannon. Prime rolled out of the way and charged forwards, pulling out his own sword. Their blades clashed. Bringing knee up, Prime kneed Megatron in the torso before spinning around and kicking him.

Megatron fell to the ground, dust flying up in his wake. Prime's fist swung down to punch him, when Megatron grabbed his arm, kicking up and hurling him over onto his back.

_/Uh, Dad, Thunderwing's almost here!/_

"I understand," he nodded grappling with Megatron again. "Megatron, I warned you about siding with Thunderwing, you only have yourself to blame."

His opponent growled, attempting to stab him with his sword. Grabbing the sword arm, Optimus flipped around and slammed Megatron down on the ground in front of him. Prime's blade pierced the ground where the warlord had been a moment ago. Megatron had gotten up and was now attempting to skewer him again. Transforming, Prime drove back out of reach, weaving between the incoming cannon shots.

Flashing his headlights, Megatron's brows furrowed before Wonder Woman hit him from behind. Her lasso wrapped around his wrist and she used her strength to toss him into the air. Captain Atom flew above, blasting him with a burst of energy sending him flying right onto Emerald's train track.

Getting up, Megatron's optics widened as a green train hurtled at him, ramming into him and dragging him all along the track as various explosives were thrown from both sides. Falling off the end of the track, he bounced like a ping pong ball between the various lanterns before transforming, leaving their little game. A red tornado moved towards him and Megatron flipped over shooting up into the sky. Once out of range of the tornado below and the lightning above, he let gravity do its work, letting him drop towards the ground, firing his blasters at the infernal Earthlings below. Chuckling to himself as they scattered, he flew down at Optimus, picking up speed. Optimus started his own engine, driving forwards and transforming on the ground, sliding under Megatron's vehicle as it flew above him. Punching the underside, the vehicle flipped through the air transforming mid air and landing in a crouch, energon leaking profusely from the various dents and gashes in his frame.

"I'll give you one chance Megatron," Optimus spoke, "Surrender, and I will spare your life."

"PRIME!" Arcee shouted and all heads turned up as the massive frame of Thunderwing flew above.

The faceplate opened, and a torrent of violet fire shot out and behind them one of the nearby volcanoes erupted. The blast wave threw everyone back, nearly knocking some into rivers of magma flowing down.

"Flash, Martian Manhunter, Rocket, Miss Martian, Guy, John, and Hal, go make sure any possible nearby settlements are evacuated!" Captain Atom ordered. "Red Tornado, try to redirect the smoke and ash!"

**"OPTIMUS PRIME! HOLDER OF THE MATRIX! AT THE COMMAND OF MY MASTER, YOUR DESTRUCTION IS AT HAND!"** the massive beast shouted his landing shaking the very ground.

Of those who remained, heads turned to Bumblebee. _"I didn't tell him to do that!"_ he exclaimed holding his hands up. Blue-violet's flickered back to their massive enemy and 'Bee swung into his car, transforming along with Arcee and Bulkhead.

As Prime fought with Thunderwing, those of the League members assigned to the battle remaining raced down to help. Energon blasts rose up hitting the beast as the Autobots raced ahead. Red beams of Superman's heat vision and Captain Atom's attacks could be seen coming from above.

**"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" **Thunderwing snarled, breathing fire into the sky. While he was distracted, a green hammer hit under his jaw, knocking the Knight back into the lava. Raising his blaster, violet fireballs shot out of the cannon rapid-fire as Thunderwing stood up.

Superman tackled Conner out of the way as Emerald landed, making a shield to block the others as the Autobots blocked the large brunt of the blows with their own armor. When the rapid fire ended, they split off, diving themselves. Arcee and Bulkhead took the left, firing at Thunderwing's cannon in an effort to disable it. Bumblebee joined his father, vaulting over the cannon on the ground and shooting as soon as he landed.

Thunderwing roared, raising his hand to smack the ground, nodding at each other, Superman and Superboy jumped punching the arm and forcing the titan to step back or fall. Catching Conner, Clark flew back as Thunderwing charged up his cannon which was soon miss-aimed by a well-timed attack from Emerald, effectively knocking it off his arm.

Leaving just one cannon to go.

His arm hit the ground again and Prime and Bumblebee wasted no time, going at it with their swords, till smoke began to rise from the cannon. They broke it, finally.

Thunderwing, did not share their joy. **"I AM NO LONGER TRAPPED IN ROCK, WEAK AND SHACKLED! I WILL TEAR YOU APART MOLECULE BY MOLECULE!"**

"I'M HERE!" Ratchet called racing out of the groundbridge with Wasp in tow. "I didn't have time to build a strong device so a made a weaker one. In order for it to work, it has to be inside Thunderwing's armor when it goes off, that should at least get him out of the suit, and onto an even playing field."

Batman nodded, taking the device and waving to Superman. The Man of Steel flew down spotting the device and Wasp. "What's the plan?"

"You're currently the fastest one here with Flash out checking for civilians. We need you to get Wasp close enough to deliver the device, the others will buy you time."

The girl shrunk down, grabbing ahold of the weapon and sitting on Superman's hand. "Prime, are you cool with this?"

/What about the Atom?/

"He can't fly to transport the weapon in sir," Wasp spoke. "I can. I'll be in and out before it goes off."

/Very well. Make it quick, we'll cover for you as long as we can!/

"Hold on," Superman warned. Wasp yelped as he blasted off into the air, holding onto his finger and the device for dear life as he flew at breakneck speeds through the ash and smoke. She could make out the forms of Captain Atom and Emerald clearing the way above as the others attacked from below. Thunderwing's fist slammed on the ground and even from the air she could feel the shockwave that blasted Bulkhead and Arcee back. Optimus and Bumblebee stood their ground, moving quickly to avoid one keeping the monster's attention for too long. Closer to where she arrived, she could see Plastic Man wrapped around a rock and holding onto Captain Marvel as Superboy loaded boulders on him and pulled back, using him as a slingshot to attack from a distance.

Flying around from behind, she nodded to Superman who released her from his grip. Holding onto the device, she dove down, letting herself freefall for a few seconds before spreading her wings. Flying under the arm, of the great titan, she flew into the vents, and dragged the device inside. Following the heat vents, she could see the terrifying form of the Cybertronian driving. Setting the device inside, she hoped it was close enough because she needed to leave. Flying out, she yelped as Superman flew by, catching her again.

And while Wasp wasn't fond of the whole damsel in distress gig, she didn't mind getting as far away from that bomb as possible.

**"This ends now!"** Thunderwing rumbled. Raising his fist, they all stared as a blue light emerged from the chest plates. **"What…What is this? I'm—I'm losing power?!" **Thunderwing's massive claws shook the ground as he tried to support himself. The chest plate opened and the armored form hopped out, his violet eyes glowing with fury. **"YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS INSOLENCE!"**

Pulling out a great axe, Thunderwing charged forwards. Jumping into the air, he landed on Prime, and forced his chestplates open. Reaching in, he grabbed Optimus by his throat throwing Prime to the ground, he dropped down forcing Prime to roll out of the way as the axe cleaved the ground where he'd been. With his free hand, Thunderwing thrust it forwards, fire erupting from his palm in a column almost as big as his dragon breath.

Bumblebee drove forwards, opening his door and basically scooping his father in as they sped out of the way of the fiery rope. Skidding to a stop, Optimus quickly ruffled his sons hair before rolling out of the car as Bumblebee drove forwards, crashing right into Thunderwing from the side. The once great Knight bounced over the hood of the car, landing in a heap on the ground as Bumblebee sped away.

Bulkhead then rolled in and ran over the man. He just didn't get away fast enough. Thunderwing grabbed the SUV's bumper, spinning around, Thunderwing tossed it through the air in the direction of the Plastic Man slingshot.

Blasts from Captain Atom, Superman, and Emerald rained down from above. The man scoffed, the attacks of these weakling barely stung. Opening his mouth, he roared as fire erupted, flying up towards the trio.

Optimus tackled him from the side, sending both of them rolling. Getting up opposite each other blue eyes met burning violet. **"Is that the best you can do?"** Thunderwing's haunting voice echoed a malicious grin splitting his face.

Clashing again, Optimus parried with one blade and sliced at his opponent's arms. Dark energon spurted out and Thunderwing growled, spinning around and slamming the staff end of his axe into Prime's gut knocking him back.

**"I will crush you!"** Optimus rolled back out of the way as Thunderwing's fist slammed down, shaking the ground and forming large cracks.

Firing his blaster, Thunderwing cried out as several shots hit his head. Throwing a fireball, Optimus grunted as it slammed into him blasting him back. Getting up, Prime was punched by Thunderwing, before ducking down as the axe swung over his head. He was kneed in the gut, rolling back as Thunderwing continued to press forwards.

Violet fire began to roll off his frame, and Thunderwing's eyes glowed through the ash of the volcano. **I will not be defeated by a Prime. I will use every once of power in my being to destroy the Matrix!"**

Blue fire began to emerge along Optimus' body. **"You want the Matrix so badly? Here it is."**

The two flaming figures collided, the resulting shockwave shaking the ground. Optimus swung his sword, cutting across Thunderwing's abdomen. The Knight of Unicron growled, swinging his axe and slamming it into the side of Prime's head, knocking his helmet off. Using the momentum of the punch, Prime placed his hands on the ground and cartwheel-kicked the axe out of Thunderwing's hands.

They both swung their fists, hitting each other at the same time. Sliding back, they charged each other again. Prime slid under the Knight's larger reach and firing several blasts right at his chest. Glancing up, Optimus pushed Thunderwing back as violet fire began to build in his mouth. Forming a shield, the violet flames rolled off. Once they stopped, Optimus dropped the shield and began firing running closer as he did so. Ducking under a sloppy swing, Optimus drew his sword as stabbed it into Thunderwing's chest.

Dark energon bubbled past the ancient Knight's lips. Coughing up energon, his mouth opened again and Prime yanked his blade out as Thunderwing released a final fiery column. Stumbling back, the ground holding him and his weapon up gave way and both fell into the lava below. Destroying any trace of the Fallen's General.

-.-

**Mt. Justice, January 26 00:10EST**

Several groups of Leaguers stood on the shores of the hidden bay of the Cave, all speaking privately with those close to them.

"I wish I could go with you," Cassie sighed standing in front of Wonder Woman.

"I doubt your mother would approve," Diana scolded lightly, before moving to rest a hand on her protégé's shoulder, "and only the six of us who stand accuse need take this odyssey. Though Hawkman insists on accompanying his spouse, and Icon will act as our advocate for it seems he is familiar with intergalactic trial law."

"You're sure this is necessary? It seems a little soon after the Thunderwing fiasco," Captain Atom questioned John.

"The Guardians of Oa seem to think so, they sent Hal, Guy, and Erica ahead to make sure the so-called High Court of Rhimbor will know we come in peace. And know we expect a fair trial."

"How long will you be gone?" Conner asked.

"However long it takes to clear our names Con-El," Clark reassured putting a hand on his shoulder, "but we will be back little brother."

"I'll miss you," M'gaan said hugging her uncle.

"And I you M'gaan, oh, perhaps you can water the plants at my apartment while I am gone?"

"Be careful alright," Nightwing said.

"I was about to say the same thing to you three," Batman replied. "I fear we leave the more dangerous task here on Earth."

"We'll manage."

Off to the side, Bumblebee and Optimus stood watching. _"How do you think their chances are? They expect a fair trial on Rhimbor. You know how that system is."_

"I am aware Bumblebee," Optimus spoke, "but be assured that they will receive such treatment."

'Bee raised an eyebrow, _"You're having the fleet escort them for a reason, aren't you? Intimidation?"_

Optimus glanced at his son before looking back towards the accused, "Knowing how the justice system of Rhimbor is, I have given your mother permission to do what she believes is necessary to prove their innocence for a crime they did not commit. As they say here on Earth: Better for a guilty man to go free than for an innocent one to be sent to jail. Ratchet is currently transmitting our obtained evidence data to the Ark for the defense."

_"Mom's gonna have a lot of fun with this,"_ 'Bee sighed as his father nodded in agreement.

Optimus reached up, touching his comms before nodding. Stepping forwards, he cleared his throat, gaining the attention of those gathered. "Has the ship arrived?" John questioned.

Prime nodded, "The _Ark, _the_ Graviton, _the _Axalon,_ the _Hyperion_, and the _Steelhaven_ have just entered orbit around Jupiter."

"Five warships?" Superman questioned.

"With the Nemesis back in the system, the commanders aren't leaving anything to chance. You'll rendezvous on the Ark. After that they'll regroup with the rest of the fleet and escort you to Rhimbor to receive a fair trial."

"The whole fleet?" Robin muttered.

_"Like Emerald said, it's a violent system,"_ 'Bee shrugged. _"The 'Cons have ships in the area, Megatron might order an assassination attempt if he learned your location." _

"Time to go," John said as they all gathered.

"May the gods be with you all," Diana said as the green dome surrounded them. It transformed into a jet-like construct, lifting off the ground and flying up into space to meet up with the Autobot warships waiting.


End file.
